4th Annual Desi Comedy Festival

Bay Area-based, Indian-born comedians Samson Koletkar and Abhay Nadkarni are presenting The 4th Annual Desi Comedy Fest! This 11-day South Asian stand up comedy extravaganza is touring comedy clubs and theaters in 9 cities throughout Northern California: San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Santa Clara, Union City, Alameda, Livermore, Santa Cruz, and Mountain View.

The festival, the largest of its kind in the US, will run August 10-20 and feature 40 South Asian comedians from all over the US, India and South Africa with diverse ethnic and religious backgrounds.

As festival co-producer Abhay Nadkarni explains that "2017 has been a great year for South Asian comics. Aziz Ansari hosted Saturday Night Live, Hasan Minhaj hosted The White House Correspondents Dinner, Kumail Nanjiani is back with a new season of Silicon Valley, and Aditi Mittal got her own Netflix special, just to name a few."

Co-producer Samson Koletkar feels that, given the current political state, it's important to host a place for South Asian voices to be heard, and "breaking stereotypes with humor is an effective way to do so.”

For more information, a full list of performers, and to purchase tickets, click here.

Here is the full list of dates, times, and venues for the festival:

  • Fri, August 11 @ 8pm: Rhythmix Cultural Works, 2513 Blanding Ave., Alameda
  • Sat, August 12 @ 8pm: Santa Clara Convention Center, 5001 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara
  • Sun, August 13 @ 7pm: Freight & Salvage, 2020 Addison St, Berkeley
  • Mon, August 14 @ 8pm: Docs Lab, 124 Columbus Ave, San Francisco  
  • Tues, August 15 @ 8pm: Throckmorton Theater, 142 Throckmorton Ave, Mill Valley
  • Wed, August 16 @ 8pm:  Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St, Mountain View
  • Thurs, August 17 @ 8pm: Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320 Cedar St, Santa Cruz  
  • Fri, August 18 @ 8pm: James Logan Center, 1800 H St, Union City  
  • Sat, August 19 @ 8pm: Bankhead Theater, 2400 1st St, Livermore  
  • Sun, August 20 @ 7pm: Marines’ Memorial Theater, 609 Sutter St, San Francisco
San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Santa Clara, Union City, Alameda, Livermore, Santa Cruz, and Mountain View.

San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Santa Clara, Union City, Alameda, Livermore, Santa Cruz, and Mountain View.San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Santa Clara, Union City, Alameda, Livermore, Santa Cruz, and Mountain View.
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