GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Gilda’s LaughFest, the ten-day community-wide festival of funny,saw more than 53,000 admissions during its third annual event.
Preliminary numbers indicate 53,566 attended LaughFest’s 261 events (69 ticketed and 192 free) at 65 stages in Grand Rapids, Lowell and Holland. A total of 33,509 tickets were sold to the various events and visitors came from 538 U.S. zip codes, which include 33 states, plus Canada.
In addition to the attendance figures, LaughFest officials are estimating the third year of the festival will have net proceeds of $210,000, which includes $74,790 raised specifically for the children’s grief support programs at Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids through LaughFest’s “High Five” donation campaign. The $74,790 was matched by the Wege Foundation generating a combined total of nearly $285,000, which will be used to support free emotional healthcare programs for children and adults living with cancer, grief and loss provided through Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids.
