As the area's massive snow piles dominated the local and national news for many days recently, a notable development in Chautauqua County may have gone unnoticed. Legendary comedian Jerry Seinfeld has been booked as the headline act at the 2015 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival in Jamestown.
"We've been working on this for over a year-and-a-half," said Journey Gunderson, executive director of the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy in Jamestown.
Gunderson says that work paid off when Seinfeld agreed to appear at two shows on Saturday, August 1, at the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena.
"The key is to be able to demonstrate a healthy demand and great audiences. We fill venues. It's a great audience mix of locals and tourists from as many as 37 states," Gunderson explained.
"I think that track record was what got it done."
http://www.lucy-desi.com/jerry-seinfeld-stage-2015-lucille-ball-comedy-festival/
The Lucy Desi Center for Comedy remains open year-round, seven-days-a-week. Though the number of visitors to the center continues to warrant that operational approach, the center is working to add new attractions.
"We partnered with Hologram USA to produce a Lucy Ricardo hologram that does 'Vitameatavegimin,' the famous bit," Gunderson said.
"It's designed to...allow people to re-live the experience as if they had been in an original audience."