A Weekend to Remember: Wrapping up the 2nd Annual Shelter Cove Comedy Festival

What a weekend! I just got back on Sunday night from the 2nd Annual Shelter Cove Comedy Festival, and I am still riding high from the entire experience. It was an incredible three days of comedy, community, and gorgeous coastal views.

First and foremost, a massive thank you to Sam Mallett and Pete Nelson for organizing such a phenomenal event. Putting together a festival with over 100 comedians from across the country is no small feat, and they absolutely crushed it. The shows ran smoothly, the crowds were fantastic, and the entire atmosphere was so welcoming and friendly.

Most of the Chico comedians that attended the festival stayed at the same AirBnB. We had a great time hanging out together after the shows. The first night several of us were up until 4AM drinking, laughing, and hanging out together. It was the absolute best.

One of the major highlights for me was getting to perform on multiple showcases throughout the weekend. It’s always a fun challenge to perform for new crowds in a different town, and the audiences in Shelter Cove did not disappoint.

The very first show I did was the 5:00PM showcase on Friday at the Community Center. The crowd was a little light, I think people were still making their way to the festival. Either way, I had a great time and the audience really seemed to enjoy the show. I felt good about my set.

On Saturday I performed on a Taboo themed showcase at 5:00PM at Surf Point Coffee. This was such a unique experience. All 8 comedians picked a word that we were not allowed to say, they wrote them on a whiteboard for the audience to see, and then we had to perform our sets while trying to avoid saying those words.

The words chosen were: I, You, So, Know, Dog(dawg), Uh, Recently, and Fuck.

For me, and pretty much everyone on the show, the hardest word was “I”. Try telling a story or joke without using the word “I”. It’s pretty much impossible. Any time we said one of the forbidden words, the audience and/or the host would shout “DRINK!” and we had to take a drink of beer. I had 3 beers in 13 minutes. This show was a really fun and challenging twist on performing stand-up comedy. We all struggled, but the struggle was the funny part. It was a blast! It was a very cool concept for a comedy show.

Shoutout to one of our Chico comedians, Jesse Clark. Saturday night he performed on the 8:00PM showcase, which was one of the headliner shows. He absolutely crushed it! In my opinion, he had the best set of the night. He brought the house down. He’s been putting in the work for years now, and it was great to see it pay off in such a big way.

Sunday, I performed on the 5:00PM showcase at the Community Center. By Sunday afternoon, a lot of people had started leaving town. But, there was still a decent crowd for the show. My set on this show was my favorite of the weekend. I was feeling good and confident. I felt like everything during this last set went my way. The audience was electric and they seemed to love my set.

Beyond the stage, the best part of the festival was the camaraderie. I got to meet and hang out with so many talented comedians from all over the country. Sharing stories, watching each other’s sets, and just connecting with fellow comics is what makes festivals like this so special. A huge personal highlight was getting to share a lineup with Rodney Norman—he was incredibly funny and gracious, and it was surreal to perform on the same shows as him. Another honorable mention goes to Dr. Holly. She put on a great show every time I saw her perform. She was hilarious.

And of course, I have to mention the location. When we weren’t at the shows, spending time on the Black Sands Beaches, tidepooling, and grabbing food at the local restaurants made the whole trip feel like a proper vacation. Gyppo Ale Mill had some great food and a great beer selection. The view from their patio was amazing too. We also got a slice from Delgada Pizza, which was crispy, saucy, and absolutely delicious!

Special shout out to Surf Point Coffee. Not only did they host several shows, but their food and coffee are absolutely incredible! It’s rare to find such a great coffee shop in such a beautiful remote area. Their food was fantastic, and don’t even get me started on the view from the dining room. It’s seriously one of the best views I’ve ever seen for a coffee shop.

Thanks again to everyone who came out to the shows, and to all the comedians who made it such a memorable weekend.

I’m already looking forward to next year. If you missed out this time, definitely keep an eye out for the 3rd Annual Shelter Cove Comedy Festival—you won’t want to miss it!