GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Celebrating laughter for the health of it, cuisine met comedy on the last day of Gilda's Laughfest.
Grand Rapids comedian Brianna Blackburn says she's a decent cook, but doesn't do it often, which is why she was excited to be on stage with Chef Jenna, from the restaurant Amore Trattoria Italiania.
“I asked her what would you like to learn? So she said eggplant parm, so that's what we're making today,” said Chef Jenna. “Which is perfect because it takes a long time to do so, I have a lot of time to chit chat in between and just make jokes and have a good time.”
“I get to learn something new from an awesome chef and an awesome human being, so I'm excited so I can show off at the Christmas parties now,” said Blackburn.
On Sunday, Chef Jenna and Blackburn were cooking up some laughs, and, as they say, laughter is good for the soul.
“You can be at a roomful of strangers. and when you share a laugh together, you now have a connection that you didn't have before,” said Wendy Wigger, President of Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids.
Cuisine and comedy make a fun mix. But Laughfest organizers say there is some serious behind all the funny. The event was named after the late comedian Gilda Radner, who was diagnosed with cancer.
“But it was after she had discovered a community of support of people that were understanding of what it was like to be on a cancer journey, that she began to find her smile and her laughter back,” explained Wigger.
Wigger says after Radnor's death, Gene Wilder and their cancer therapist started the very first Gilda’s Club in New York.
All of the money raised will help support a free emotional health program offered to anyone battling cancer or experiencing grief of any kind, with Meijer matching the first $20,000 raised.
It’s a fun festival for an even greater cause.
“It's by leaning into one another, by coming together as a community that we can really begin to navigate some of life's tough stuff, like cancer or grief,” said Wigger.
This was the 13th annual event. If you would like to donate to help them reach their $20,000 goal, you can do so here.
