The last time Ivan Decker was in Castlegar, he couldn't find any castles. This time out may not prove any more fruitful in terms of finding any castles in Castlegar, but rest assured he will once again bringing the laughs.
"I was a little disappointed the first time I came given that there were zero castles," he said. "I thought there would be at least one. I don't know how many constitute a 'gar'."
Decker was here in October as part of the Yuk Yuk's Tour at the Fireside Inn with fellow comedians Marcus Beaubier and Garrett Clark. This time, the youthful jokester will be the headliner for Stand up for Charity at the Element Club Bar and Grill in Castlegar and at the Charles Bailey Theatre in Trail. Opening for Decker will be Sunni Dhaliwal. The event is hosted by the Kin Club of Trail and goes May 31 at Element and June 1 at the Charles Bailey Theatre. Proceeds from the show to to the Kootenay Boundary Regional Health (KBRH) Foundation, Cystic Fibrosis Canada, and Kinsmen Community Initiatives.
Decker is one of the fastest rising comedians in Canada. He has appeared at the Montreal Just for Laughs festival and has had numerous TV and radio appearances including his own half-hour comedy special on CTV.
"I just finished recording a DVD two nights ago," he said. "I'm currently on tour in Victoria. Right now it's fun being a comedian. I'm at the point now where I'm flirting of quitting my day job. I'm on the cusp."
He's excited about returning to the West Kootenay area and performing for the great people here.
"I'm thrilled to be coming to Castlegar and Trail," he said. "I always like it there. It's fun."
Decker describes his comedy as observational much like Jerry Seinfeld or Brian Regan. "It's generally pretty clean," he said. "It's more silly than it is dirty. I try to make it fun. I'm not trying to alienate anyone. I want everyone to enjoy the show. The style I do - I try to make the jokes relatable for anyone. Old people, young people, anyone can come out and have a good time."
Decker's family is from Saskatchewan, but he grew up in Vancouver. "I grew up in the suburbs," he said. "I moved into the big city at 19 and started to do comedy then. I've been doing comedy pretty steadily since then. I've been on Just for Laughs. I've been on the CBC show the Debaters several times. That's lots of fun. I'm doing another episode of that coming up at the end of this month."
Opening act Dhaliwal is another rising young comedian. He has headlined for Mike McDonald, Jo Koy, and Sugar Sammy and has also performed at the Just for Laughs Festival.
Tickets for the Castlegar show are available at the Element, Castlegar Realty, and Castlegar Hyundai, while tickets for the Trail show are available at the Charles Bailey box office and Investor's Group, 1267 Cedar Avenue.