The Avafon Hotel, 1025 Marine Dr., North Vancouver,

4985-4181, Visa, MasterCard and American Express

accepted. Its Madison Avenue Grille is open Monday to

Saturday for lunch and dinner. Fully licensed. Vegetarian

options? Some. Take the

kids or call a babysitter?
‘ou could do either.

Menu for tonight:
i@ A barrel of laughs

7A good punchline
aneeds a good build-up.

So before we give you
aRich Elwood’s latest: some
background.
:-Elwood, for all those in
the Canadian comedic know, helped establish stand-up
comedy west of the Rockies during the past two decades.
The 42-year-old North Shore resident arrived in
AVancouver from Toronto in 1977 bound for a career in
Me radio: Station C-Fun — then in its hip heyday — beckoned.
’ Comedy, however, beckoned more.
‘ Elwood, who honed his early routines in Toronto’s
Starvin’ Marvin’s strip club, founded his Punchlines come-
se dy club in March 1978
in the basement of the
Queen Elizabeth
Theatre.
A humble beginning,
indeed. But the local
hunger for humor
stretched that beginning
into one of the longest
running jokes in
Vancouver.
In November 1979,
Elwcod moved

“The GST and
7 A&E killed the

‘comedy club.”
— Rich Elwoed

= Viva NV Community PI

Punchlines uptown to Vancouver’s Gastown area.

By that time, Punchlines was well on its way to establish-
ing itself as one of the key stand-up comedy clubs on the
West Coast.

North America’s stand-up comedy community is rela-
tively small and tight-knit.

Elwood, who had been plying his trade since he was 18,
was an integral part of that community. He was comedically
connected.

With Elwood at the helm Punchlines attracted some of
the brightest talents in comedy: Dennis Miller, Jay Leno,
Howie Mandell and a then-unknown Jim Carrey.

Punchlines cultivated a stand-up comedy style that was
clean and clever. A lot like Elwood himself.

It also helped launch the careers of Ryan Stiles,

Dean Hagland, Janice Ungaro and other talented

layers.

Government of Canada Fine Arts Gallery (W.V. Memorial Library): Swell, No Swell, acrylics on canvas, ply-
-wood and dearskin by artist Jason Claridge. to Sept. 28. Lower Mainland artists who would like to apply for an
exhibit during the 1997 schedule at the library gallery are invited to submit works for selection. Call 925-7410 for

details.

Ferry Building Gallery: Human Relationships, . collection of allegofical and mythological
oi! paintings by artist Bi!l Hoopes, which examine humanity as existing in
nature and in society; exhibition runs to Sept. 22. Artist's Evening ;

Lecture.and Discussion, second Tuesday of every exhibition,

meet artists, discuss art-related issues, 7 p.m., $2

includes refreshments. Info: 925-7290.

Silk Purse Arts Centre: Whimsical Scenes,

oil paintings by Dennis Willie, to Sept. 22."

Watercolors and Oils, by Babs Ferguson,
: Pegi Risdale, and Audrie Birks, Sept.

24-Oct. 6. Info; 925-7292.

Seymour Art Gallery: Mimosa,

themed intagliy prints by stu-

dent artist Biliana.Velkova, to

Oct..13. Discovery ‘97 The

Darker Side, call for

entries for juried exhibi-

Gon. Cornucepia of

Creative Gifts, craft

artists and artisans arc

invited to apply for the

annually held juried
"exhibition and sale,

which runs Nov. 27 to

Dec, } at Seymour Art

Gallery, jurying date is’
“Sept. 28, $10 fee. Fist

Frolic, Oct. 1. Info: 924-

A378.
West Vanceuver

; “Museum and Archives: .

West Vancouver Collectibles!

Antique identification and care
“clinic, Sept. 21, 2-4 p.m, Call
. 925-7295. West Vancouver

Collects! New exhibition includes
“collection of Coast Salish baskets,

West Vancouver Girl Guides’ mementos,
-and a section on “modem” office technology

(turn of the century to World War Two). lafo:

925-7295.

PUMCHLINE provider ... North Shore writer and

stand-up comic Rich Elwood is set to resurrect his
Punchlines comedy club at the Avalon Hotel.

local comics. . .

To squeeze the last drops out of a fatigued cliche,
Elwood was laughing all the way to the bank. Well, maybe.
not laughing, but smiling at least. ;

Punchlines, he says, was never about money. It was -
about comedy. ‘

See Elwood page 173

VIVA Las Vegas

will feature

Michael

Morabito and

{ieft to right in

background)

Maggie

Kolodziej,

Jennifer

Wightman,

Kristen Whitley

- and Jannicke

Wiig as the

Chiffoneites at.

Hendry Hall. The

comedy musical

revue with the stars

of show business is

’ being presented by the

; _ North Vancouver
Community Players and runs

from Sept. 18 untit Oct. 5.

Tickets cost $10 for adults and $8
for students and seniors. Phone the
Hendry Hail box office at 983-2633 for
‘more iniarmation or to book tickets.
NEWS photo Brad Ledwidije -