One million dollars in ticket sales is not what comedian Dan Quinn had originally set out for when planning a snowboard vacation in 2007. Quinn had just anticipated booking a few gigs along the way to pay for the trip; after mentioning his tour plans to other comedian friends, they all wanted to join in the tour, and the Snowed In Comedy Tour was born.
“The deal we made at the beginning was if we made or lost any money, we would split it. We just thought, ‘Hey, let’s go for a fun vacation, and maybe it won’t be that expensive.’ So we put it together and somehow people showed up. The shows were great, so we said, ‘Let’s do it again,’” says Quinn.
The tour was not expected to be such a success. Now in its eighth year, Snowed In Comedy has to date sold $1 million in tickets. This year, tickets are selling at three times the rate of last year, says Quinn.
“What’s good about this tour is it’s not a big company running it, it’s just us. This is what our fans like, and we’ve kept it that way,” says Quinn.
The eight-week tour begins in Prince Rupert, BC in January and makes its way through Alberta and BC, wrapping up in Lloydminster, Alberta in March. The four comedians (Quinn, Pete Zedlacher, Craig Campbell, and Paul Myrehaug) visit ski hills to snowboard by day, and do stand-up comedy at local venues by night.
“You’re getting up and snowboarding every day, and then you have to be prepared for your show that night,” says Quinn about some of the challenges while on tour. “You want to give 100 percent on your show, because at the end of the day, nobody really cares if you’re tired because you went snowboarding all day.”
There are a couple of prerequisites for comedians to be part of the tour, according to Quinn: they have to be a fantastic comedian, and they have to like snowboarding.
“This year, it’s a really good combination with the four of us. It’s going to be really tight, funny, hard-hitting sets. Just joke after joke after joke, and the laughs are non-stop,” says Quinn. “I am doing a little more political stuff this year than I did last year, especially with everything that seems to be going on in the world.”
As the tour has grown, it has required more of Quinn’s time, becoming “kind of” his day job, he says.
“One of the biggest challenges is securing venues,” he says. “I pretty much start planning for next year as soon as this tour wraps up. People really enjoy the quality of the show; we’re adding three more weeks and expanding into Alberta and Saskatchewan. We’re going to start moving it across Canada and see where this tour goes.”
Snowed In Comedy Tour
8:30 pm Friday, January 15
$40, Royal Theatre
rmts.bc.ca