5th Annual Desi Comedy Fest

The 5th Annual Desi Comedy Fest takes place over the course of 11 days (August 9-19) in 9 Northern California cities: San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Milpitas, Dublin, and Mountain View, AND Santa Cruz.

*[Desi (pronounced "THEY-see") is a term for the cultures and products of the Indian subcontinent or South Asia and their diaspora, derived from the Ancient Sanskrit (desa or deshi), meaning Land or Country. Desi countries include India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, and Maldives.]

This year's festival features over 30 comedians from all over the US, with diverse ethnic (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Iranian, Syrian-Mexican, Libyan, Japanese, and Filipino) and religious backgrounds (Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, and Catholic).

Last year's attendance was 2700: up from 700 in 2014, the first year of the festival. 4000 attendees are expected this year.

The festival was created by Bay Area-based Indian-born comedians, Samson Koletkar and Abhay Nadkarni.

The idea was born on August 14 and 15, 2013, Pakistani and Indian Independence Days, respectively.

Info/Tix: http://www.desicomedyfest.com/shows-2018/aug16-santacruz