FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Fort Wayne’s newest festival is sure to make you laugh. The Maumee Mary & Joseph Comedy Festival is the first of its kind here in Fort Wayne. It will span three days – Friday, March 31 through Sunday, April 2 – and nine venues around downtown. There will be 23 shows during that time featuring 60 performers.

One of those performers is Terrance Cassell from Fort Wayne. His comedic style draws inspiration from Jerry Seinfeld. Cassell, also known as T.V, said “You’re gonna like me because I carry the heartbeat of Fort Wayne…because I was born and raised, Navy veteran, moved back home. I love my city, so I always try to incorporate some of my city into my comedy.” He talks about politics, family relationships, and the way he sees life.

Jeremy Arroyo is another comedian who will be performing this weekend. He will be recording his comedy album for Comedy Dynamics at Pint & Slice at 8 PM both Friday and Saturday. He says your laughs or boos, if you attend, will be on his album. You will be able to find that on Spotify, iTunes, and other places you buy media. The album is called “Groaners” because Arroyo does bad jokes – the ones that make you groan instead of laugh. He pitched that to the label, and after just five years in this business, is now making an album.

There will be many different types of comedy shows over the week including many which will involve the audience. Roast Battle from Comedy Central will be a popular one. The organizers of the event are comedians, too. They pitched this idea to the Downtown Improvement District as part of a grant competition last year. D.I.D. was looking for an event to bring people downtown during the late winter/early spring months. This festival won the competition and brings something unique to the city. “Comedy is alive and well here in Fort Wayne, and this festival is one way to let people know that,” said comedian Courtney White. Anthony Racic, Co-Chair of the festival, added, “We have a lot of local acts because we want to try to build up comedy in Fort Wayne, expose more people to the great local comedians we have here in the city.”Click here to order tickets and see the full schedule.