August 2013 – Los Angeles, CA – The Cabo Comedy Festival, under the slogan “Where the Land Ends and the Laughs Begin,” and “The Arsenio Hall Show” will introduce a fresh new stand-up comedian who will make his/her national television debut on the soon-to-debut late night talk show.
Supported by the Mexico Tourism Board, the Los Cabos Tourism Board and the state of Baja California Sur, the 5-day Cabo Comedy Festival (www.cabocomedyfestival.com) will take place October 2-6, 2013 in Cabo San Lucas, B.C.S., Mexico, and is produced by LA-based Zaring Group and Wind Entertainment. The festival will feature performances at the Hard Rock Café, Desperados, Pink Kitty Nightclub and Cabo Wabo by some of the entertainment industry’s top stand-up headliners, panel discussions on the business of comedy, a celebrity golf tournament, which will benefit DIF, a local children’s charity, and after-parties at some of the destination’s most popular nightclubs. The festival will culminate with an awards ceremony wherein legendary Improv founder Budd Friedman will be honored with the Giant of Comedy Award.
At the heart of the Cabo Comedy Festival is the ‘Jack Rollins Breakthrough Talent Competition’, in which 16 ‘opening act’ level comedians from across America will be invited to perform over 2 nights at the Hard Rock Café. Each night, the top 3 acts will advance to re-compete on Saturday before a panel of industry experts, including Friedman. The finals will be hosted by actress and comedian Niecy Nash, who currently stars on the TV Land comedy “Soul Man”. The winner will then perform on the October 9th episode of “The Arsenio Hall Show”.
The competition is named for Jack Rollins, the legendary NYC-based talent manager and producer. Rollins, who discovered Woody Allen and has served as producer of every Allen film, was also the executive producer of former client David Letterman’s “Late Night with David Letterman” during its 13-year run on NBC. The 98-year old Rollins also managed several legendary performers including Lenny Bruce, Dick Cavett, Robert Klein, Billy Crystal, Rick Reynolds and Robin Williams.
Festival creator and producer John Zaring said “It is not an overstatement to say that Jack Rollins is a true legend in our industry, and we are honored that he has agreed to lend his name to the festival’s Breakthrough Talent Competition. And, it is an equal honor for us to present the winner on “The Arsenio Hall Show,” which not only will provide an unknown stand-up with their national TV debut, but continues Arsenio’s legacy of introducing new talent to America’s attention.”
Managing Director of the Los Cabos Tourism Board, Eduardo Segura said, “We are thrilled to bring this exciting festival to our destination. This event is the first of its kind in Cabo and we couldn’t be happier with the level of talent that has been confirmed to perform and host thanks to the hard work of our partners at the Zaring Group and Wind Entertainment. We look forward to making the Cabo Comedy Festival a highly anticipated and celebrated event for many years to come.”
An Emmy Award®-winner, the original “The Arsenio Hall Show” broke ground with iconic moments like Bill Clinton playing his saxophone, Michael Jackson’s guest appearance with Eddie Murphy and Mariah Carey’s television debut. “The Arsenio Hall Show” will premiere nationwide on September 9, 2013 (check local listings).
Show tickets, festival badges and hotel packages will be available at www.cabocomedyfestival.com as of August 15, 2013. The festival’s Twitter account is @CaboComedyFest or Facebook/Cabo Comedy Festival.
Zaring Group founder John Zaring has three decades of experience in celebrity event development and management. The firm has been promoting Mexico via special events and celebrity appearances since 2007. Productions in Cabo San Lucas include the annual Barefoot Formal, a New Year’s Eve show at Casa Dorada Resort & Spa featuring dancers from “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance” along with finalists from “American Idol,” as well as the Cabo Celebrity Golf Classic, and Puerto Los Cabos World Cup.
Wind Entertainment is an entertainment marketing company that specializes in events and talent procurement. Founder Matt Wind has built several innovative brand campaigns in the United States and Mexico including the LG Villa Cabo, where Wind was instrumental in producing the E! series Party Monsters: Cabo.
Los Cabos, located at the tip of the 1,000-mile long Baja Peninsula, is home to award-winning hotels, resorts, championship golf courses, rejuvenating spas, world-class sport fishing, and was the host city for the G20 Summit of global leaders in 2012. With a unique landscape of dramatic desert and white sand beaches, Los Cabos is an exotic escape within easy reach of most U.S. and Canadian cities.
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