Newark Culture Club To Hold Grand Opening Comedy Event

NEWARK, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of a Patch Newark community member. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

Newark Culture Club will hold its grand opening with a special edition of the Brick City Comedy Revue celebrating The Jersey Bee’s fifth birthday on Nov. 7 at 8 p.m.

Guests can purchase tickets to Brick City Comedy Revue and give a birthday gift to support The Jersey Bee’s mission to deliver local news that helps people meet basic needs, access resources, and build civic power in Essex County and New Jersey.

Visit bday.jerseybee.org to get tickets and make a birthday gift to support The Bee. All gifts will be doubled through NewsMatch, a national gift-matching campaign supporting nonprofit news organizations.

Like The Bee, the evening’s lineup features local talent with national impact, including:

• Alonzo “Hamburger” Jones (HBO’s Def Comedy Jam, BET’s Comicview)
• Chris Gethard (Beautiful Stories From Anonymous People, New Jersey Is the World)
• Chris Lamberth (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Last O.G.)
• Jess Salomon (The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Sad Witch)
• Lance Weiss (CMT’s Next Big Comic, NBC’s The Today Show)

The event will be hosted by Justin Williams and DJ Gonzalo Silva, with special guest co-host Gordon Baker-Bone (Gotham Live, The Bad Advice Show) and musical guest Brainorchestra.

“Joy and laughter are just as essential to civic life as news about government budgets and school closings,” said Simon Galperin, founder and Executive Editor of The Jersey Bee. “In five years, we’ve proven that local news can make life better. I’m looking forward to celebrating this movement with our community and imagining what we can accomplish together in the next five years.”

The event is a special edition of the Brick City Comedy Revue and an official stop of Newark First Fridays, a monthly cultural event series happening the first Friday of every month.

“The Brick City Comedy Revue is very proud to have brought some of the best comedians in the world to Newark at an extremely affordable price for over a decade,” said Williams. “We love the idea of collaboration with The Jersey Bee because we share a community-centered DIY spirit!”

The Jersey Bee launched in Bloomfield in 2020 and expanded to 12 towns and cities in Essex County in 2023, including Newark, The Oranges, Irvington, Maplewood, Glen Ridge, Montclair, Belleville, and Nutley.

“The solutions to our problems don’t begin in Washington or Trenton. We need good, local information to meet our needs and make a difference in our communities. The Jersey Bee is making that happen,” said Nikki Villafane, Engagement Producer at The Jersey Bee.

The Jersey Bee’s fifth birthday celebration will mark the grand opening of Newark Culture Club, which received a grant from City of Newark and Invest Newark in 2024 to open the arts and entertainment venue.

“We want Newark Culture Club to serve as downtown Newark's hub for arts and entertainment – to be an inclusive space where people can come, have fun, and enjoy quality local products,” said Williams, who is also a managing member of Newark Culture Club.

The event is open to guests aged 21 and over. Tickets can be purchased and birthday gifts made at bday.jerseybee.org.

About The Jersey Bee: The Jersey Bee is a nonprofit serving Essex County and New Jersey with local news and information that helps people meet their basic needs, connect with their neighbors, and engage in civic life.

About Brick City Comedy Revue: Brick City Comedy Revue is Newark’s longest-running comedy showcase, uniting national and local talent to celebrate the city’s creative energy and diverse voices.

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