Arab American National Museum Hosts Weekend Comedy Festival

The 1001 Laughs Dearborn Comedy Festival will take place at the Arab American National Museum (AANM) this weekend.

Produced by Dearborn-based Palestinian American comedian Amer Zahr, the festival features 12 performers from Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington D.C., Detroit and Dearborn.

Ahmed Ahmed, co-founder of the Axis of Evil comedy tour and star of the TBS hit show Sullivan & Son, will headline the event.

Ahmed is a world-renowned comedian who has performed in every corner of the globe. The director of the groundbreaking comedic 2010 documentary Just Like Us, he is widely recognized as one the pioneers of Arab American comedy, and his work has built bridges.

In 2004, Ahmed, an Egyptian American, was awarded the first Richard Pryor Award for Ethnic Comedy at Scotland’s Edinburgh Festival. He currently portrays tow truck driver Ahmed Nassar on Sullivan & Son, which returns for its third season on TBS next year. 

The comedy show will also feature Mike Batayeh, a former resident of Detroit, who performed as the recurring character Dennis Markowski in seasons five and six of the hit series Breaking Bad on AMC.

Retired Ann Arbor Police detective Khurum Sheikh and Joey Nibras, also known as The Wacky Iraqi, will also perform.

During the festival, audience members will be asked to vote for their favorite performer. On Nov. 15, the audience-selected favorites from the festival will return to the museum for a special encore appearance.

Tickets for all four festival performances are $15. Tickets are available in advance online at www.arabamericanmuseum.org, www.amerzahr.com and www.1001laughs.com and at the door. Discounts are available for groups of four or more.

All performances take place in the lower level auditorium at the Arab American National Museum, 13624 Michigan Ave., in Dearborn.

Call 313-582-2266 or visit www.arabamericanmuseum.org for more information.