Comedy & Cuisine Collide in Providence – March 27 – 30
Gastronomy and guffaws are unleashed when comedy and cuisine collide in Providence March 27-30 — with not one, but two, simultaneous and complementary inaugural festivals. Lil Rhody Laugh Riot and Providence Culinary Collective bring food, drink and fun to the Capital City. The event provides the perfect elixir offering attendees a much needed release from the drudgery of life. Events include celebrity chefs, marquee comedians as well as rising stars of both comedy and cookery.
Providence, long renowned as an arts hub. The dramatic arts of comedy and cuisine tap into all five senses and foster shared experiences transcending generations, cultures, and even political affiliations. For four days and nights, festival goers will be treated to superb food, drink, live music, and lots of laughs. Merging of culinary and comedic arts is as natural as the memories, places, events, experiences that both create and conjure.
“This comedy festival, paired with the debut of the Providence Culinary Collective, will showcase the best of what our city has to offer—world-class entertainment, exceptional cuisine and an energy that draws people together,” remarked Mayor Brett P. Smiley. “Providence is quickly gaining national recognition as a top destination for people to live, work and visit.”
Providence, also, boasts numerous critically acclaimed restaurants and is considered an important center for the study and appreciation of culinary arts. The diversity of gastronomic experiences include farm-to- table, shellfish right off the boat, and bustling food markets.
Humor Highlights
– Food trucks will be parked outside Veterans Memorial Auditorium, one of the three main venues for Lil Rhody Laugh Riot, which also include Providence Performing Arts Center and The Comedy Connection (just over the bridge in East Providence). Live comedy includes nationally acclaimed comedians such as Kevin Hart, Aziz Ansari, Leslie Jones and Matt Rife.
– Triple The Laugh series Features Ashley Gavin March 29 at VETS, Matt Rife, March 29 & 30 at Comedy Connection, Des Bishop, March 27 at Comedy Connection, and Jonathan Van Ness on March 29 at Vets.
– The comedy line-up runs the gamut from marquee headliners – Kevin Hart, Hannah Berner, Josh Johnson, Chris DeStefano, Michael Blaustein, and Leslie Jones – to rising stars and locals all taking the mic at various stages from The Vets, PPAC and RI Comedy Connection.
Culinary Connection Capers
Four days and nights of gastronomic festivities include both large and intimate experiences all to celebrate food and drink. Here is a sampling of activities.
Celebrity chef, Mary Ann Esposito best known for “Ciao Italia’2”, will star at Uncorking the Future, a culinary & wine experience to benefit Rhode Island PBS and The Public’s radio (tickets www.goprovidence.com).
Johnson & Wales University’s (JWU), renowned for culinary arts and science programs ranging from pastry arts to fine dining, opens its Culinary Arts Museum on Friday (registration/fee required). Get hands-on instruction to your skills with JWU Three Chef’s Choice cooking classes.
The culinary students of Genesis Center will prepare a globally inspired menu, Celebration of Jacques Pepin, at CHOP.
Grand Wine Tasting at Providence G Ballroom will feature 35 wine vendors, sommeliers, and three experts in a panel discussion to include sustainability.
Foodcraft: An evening of Global Flavors Locally Made is presented by Hope & Main at 100 Westminster Street, with complimentary appetizers and specialty foods, cash bar and live music. Hope & Main is RI’s first food business incubator, spawning more than 450 businesses since 2014 as well as retail (Makers Market) and wholesale (RI Tabletop Show) opportunities for culinary entrepreneurs (info@makefoodyourbusiness.org).
Specialty dinners: Oberlin will host a dinner paired with wines from DuMOL’s 2022 vintage while The Capital Grille features tastings of champagne and caviar. Chef Kaitlyn Rober hosts a Vintners’ Dinner at The Reserve on Dorrance. Sarto will feature Giro D’italia wine to pair with meals, and Café Nuovo will serve wines from Stag’s Leap wine cellars to complement menu offerings.
Head to the Rooftop at Providence G for mocktails where there will also be a wine and astrology night.
The Collective is in debt to partnerships fused by sponsors Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau, Genesis Center, Johnson & Wales University, Hope & Main, Food Trucks In, Rhode Island PBS and The Public’s Radio, Track 15, First annual Saveur, as well as the inaugural Rhode Island Wine Experience (Wine X).
