Wolf Swamp's Comedy Night to share laughs and benefit students

Date: 3/8/2010

March 8, 2010

By Courtney Llewellyn

Reminder Assistant Editor



LONGMEADOW - At the inaugural Wolf Swamp PTO Comedy Night last year, school principal Kimberly Stillwell said she was thoroughly roasted by the comedians onstage.

She added that the roasting was worth it, though, because of all the good work the PTO does in the school with the money that was raised.

The Wolf Swamp PTO will be hosting their second annual Comedy Night starting at 6 p.m. on March 13 at Twin Hills Country Club.

This year's featured comedians are warm up act Smokin' Joe Holden and headliner Tim Joyce.

Holden has recently opened for national headliners Caroline Rhea, Dom Irrera, Jim Gaffigan, Pablo Francisco, Robert Kelly, Josh Blue, Aries Spears, Greg Proops and Colin Quinn, among others. Many of Holden's exhilarating, original bits are based on his life experiences which are just some of the outrageously funny premises concocted in his twisted, comedic mind, according to his Web site.

Joyce, who has been touring since 1991, has worked clubs and colleges from L.A.'s Improv to the Gotham Comedy Club in New York City. He's played in 36 states as well as Canada. On television, Joyce's comedy has been featured on ABC's "America's Funniest People," Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Stand-Up" and "Short Attention Span Theatre," and the regional Fox TV stand up revues "Night Shift" and "Live At the Funny Farm."

"We wanted to come up with a different kind of spring fundraiser," Roxanne Bannon, president of the Wolf Swamp PTO, said of the Comedy Night. "We wanted a new way for parents to enjoy themselves."

Last year's event brought in 181 supporters of the school and Bannon described the show as "hysterically funny."

"We couldn't wait to do it the next year," she added.

The evening's meal includes hors d'oeuvres, salad and dinner rolls, a buffet dinner featuring chicken piccata, barbecue beef brisket, pasta alfredo, potatoes and assorted vegetables, ice cream profiterole with hot fudge and coffee and tea as well as a cash bar.

In addition to the comedy show, a raffle will feature items such as a round of golf for four at Twin Hills, Berkshire East and Blandford lift tickets, tickets to Six Flags New England, Old Sturbridge Village and The Big E, gift certificates to local restaurants and a surprise from the Boston Red Sox.

"It's a great cause to support," Bannon said. "With budget cuts coming, the schools in town will really depend on their PTOs more and more. We've planned a great date night that's affordable as well."

The fundraising evening benefits myriad programs at Wolf Swamp, according to Stillwell - from purchasing science equipment, starting up a cross country skiing and snowshoeing program and refurbishing music equipment to awarding mini-grants to teachers so they can expand their professional training.

"This is the most supportive and active PTO I've worked with in 18 years as an educator," Stillwell told Reminder Publications. "And they're going to present a great night."

Tickets, which are $45 each, are selling fast, according to Bannon. They are available by calling Wolf Swamp School at 565-4270, by visiting Twin Hills Country Club from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., or by logging onto the PTO's Web site at www.wolfswamp.org.