MOOSE JAW — Moose Jaw’s Filipino community continues to grow and now, thanks to a new production company, Filipino artistic and comedic talent will have an outlet to host cultural productions in The Friendly City.
The first event hosted by Classmate Productions will be a stand-up comedy show featuring Filipino-based talent Kuya Jobert who will perform live at the Peacock Auditorium starting at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 29.
“To be honest, this is the first show or event (we’ve hosted) that’s dedicated to the Filipino community,” announced Joanne Solero, an organizer with Classmate Productions in Moose Jaw.
“We do have basketball tournaments or parties organized by individuals, but this is the first big (show) that we’re doing and we invited a celebrity from the Philippines to join us,” she said. “We are also highlighting our local performers who will be there….”
Jobert is a well renowned comedian in the Philippines and this month he’ll be including a stop in Moose Jaw with his upcoming tour.
Classmate Productions was founded to address a lack of cultural outlets for the local Filipino community.
“In Saskatchewan, for example, most of the Filipino shows are happening in Saskatoon or Regina, but never in Moose Jaw which is (unfortunate) because there’s a large Filipino community here and in nearby areas,” Solero explained.
“So, we’re trying to change that and make Moose Jaw a possible venue for all these artists, especially (popular touring artists) from the Philippines,” she said.
Classmate Productions was founded this October and opened with the initial goal of hosting Jobert’s upcoming comedy show. So far, Solero said she’s seen quite an outpouring of support from the community.
“We’re actually quite surprised,” she admitted. “We didn’t expect to have so much support from the local business community because… we didn’t know what to expect (when we made the first announcement). We’re very happy and we feel very lucky that the local community is very supportive.”
So far, Classmate Productions has received support from Déjà vu Café, Dairy Queen Moose Jaw, Smitty’s and Bugsy’s Irish Pub at the Town ‘N’ Country Mall, Houston Pizza, and a growing list of others.
If the upcoming comedy show proves to be successful, Solero said she hopes to see Classmate Productions continue to expand and — hopefully — start hosting a quarterly show featuring local and international Filipino talent.
At first her plan was to organize a routine stand-up comedy show, but, with the consideration of feedback from members of the Filipino community, a few changes have been included.
The show will now open with performances by three Filipino singers and two local Filipino bands including Overdrive and Basement Project.
Tickets for the upcoming show are available now and purchasing details can be found on the company’s Facebook page, ‘Classmate Productions.’
Tickets can also be purchased in person at participating Filipino stores including the Kabayan Sari-sari Store at 20 Fairford Street West, Alice Asian Superstore at 404 Lillooet Street West, and Houston Pizza at 117 Main Street North.
To learn more about comedian Kuya Jobert visit KuyaJobert.com.
The Peacock Auditorium is located at 145 Ross Street East.
