Third installment of Michael Moore’s comedy fest canceled due to beer event

By Carrie Andersen | December 9, 2011 at 1:27 pm | 7 comments | feature slider, News | Tags: comedy festivals, michael moore, michigan, traverse city

Usually, beer and comedy go together like peas and carrots, but apparently not in Traverse City, Michigan. The Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival, founded in 2010, won’t be happening this year due to a scheduling conflict with the Traverse City Winter Microbrew and Music Festival. The beer fest is slated to go down Feb. 10-11, which would have overlapped with the comedy festival.

Founder Michael Moore (yes, that Michael Moore) is not thrilled; he released a written statement critiquing the beer festival because they “purposefully piggybacked themselves onto (a) community-wide event that also included family activities.” But Sam Porter, the honcho at the beer thing, argued that his scheduling options were limited. There’s still a chance the festival will return next year. Earlier this year, the second installment of the fest — co-founded by comedian Jeff Garlin — included the likes of Patton Oswalt, Bob Saget, Caroline Rhea and Jeffrey Ross.

About the Author

Carrie Andersen

In addition to writing for Laughspin, Carrie is a graduate student in Austin, Texas, where she researches popular culture, new media, music, and social movements. When not reading or writing in any official capacity, she spends her time playing the drums, watching crappy TV, and eating copious amounts of tacos and barbecue. She also blogs sporadically at carrieandersen.com.

Cindy

Dear City Commissioners, RE: Porterhouse Productions misrepresentation on moving the date for their February 2012 Microbrew Fest: Deny their Closed road Permit.Thanks for your service, doing a great job!! Appreciate all your hard work and thought you have put in to make our city so unique and so wonderfully different.19 years ago, I moved to Traverse City from the deep south. I was a newly divorced single Mom of 3 kids, no money and lots of hope. Only reason for moving here was for quality of life, and figured the rest would follow, and it did. This is a wonderful place to live. Integrity still means something, your word means something. The addition of the Traverse City Film Festival, Comedy Festival and the State Theatre gave the downtown its new personality. Without it, I believe the downtown area would go back to the samesleepy downtown it was when I first moved here. I loved the fresh air, and beautiful surroundings, but there was not a whole lot for entertainment or dining. The bean pot was considered “gourmet”, and entertainment? Whelp if the Dennos has something you were lucky. That was about it.The TCFF project infused our downtown with confidence that we could be better. Just get people together, cooperating, working together, you give your word, and people rely on it. I have never seen anything like it anywhere else I have lived. I am so proud of where I live!!I am writing to ask that when Sam Porter requests his Closed Road Permit for his Microbrew Fest in February, that he be denied for how he has behaved by manipulating city officials that he would move his Micobrew fest due to conflicts with the Comedy Festival, and at the last minute recanted his word. I don’t think its a good way to honor the hard work and dedication of our not for profit TCFF and Comedy Festival group by allowing this closed road permit for Porter’s ,for profit, drinking festival. Porter had agreed well in advance to move his date, then recanted this week. Everyone was taken by surprise. He thought he had them. I don’t think he predicted that TCCF would pull their event completely. It sends a message loud and clear. A message the City of Traverse City should support by not granting Porters permit, and asking the Comedy Festival to reconsider. At last years comedy festival there were drunks from the drunk fesitval embarrassing themselves during performances. Not the image the city wants the TCCF audience and performers who travel here to absorb. I don’t blame the Comedy Festival wanting this change. To endorse a drinking festival after Sam Porter did not keep his word sends the wrong message, and it is not at all what Traverse City is. I live and work in this town and learned real quick what you say matters.The micro brew fest was started the same weekend at the TCCF to ride on the coattails of the Comedy Festival a few years ago by this amateur promoter & self proclaimed entrepreneur from Montana.Then the TCCF realized that the drunk people coming in from the micro brew fest were causing harm and asked Porter with the DDA’s help to move his date. He agreed a long time ago, and then this week recanted that promise. I don’t think he expected the Comedy Festival would just cancel. Not in a million years. The micro brew fest will more than likely flop and be gone anyway. However, I think with all that the TCFF and TCCF has given the city, the hard work they put into the upcoming event, I think we need to send a message loud and clear that we are thankful for what they have done for our city, and we won’t endorse what Sam Porter pulled. It was plain dirty and we won’t stand for it. Hopefully from the backlash the community toward Porter’s actions, he won’t go through with it. Given his actions so far, I doubt it. I don’t have anything to gain from my position other than one Traverse City Business person and property owner who is very thankful to the State Theatre group, TCFF and TCCF for what they have brought to our community, and if we don’t stand for keeping ones word, then we become “anywhere USA.” TC is more than that. Thank you for your time. Cindy AndersonSenior Associate BrokerColdwell Banker, Schmidt Realtors522 E. Front StreetTraverse City, Mi 49686231.218.5324www.traversecityproperties.netwww.mytraversecitymls.com Serving NW Michigan for over 17 years.
- Eventplans
  
  Dear Cindy, You should review your information. Porterhouse has never moved their date, it has always been on the same weekend. It was the comedy festival that moved their date on to the Porterhouse weekend. So your assertion of riding the coa tails of the Comedy Festival need to be re-examined. Porterhouse runs a tight ship and have a good working relationship with the MLCC and TC Police Department and a good record. To my knowledge there where no drunks from the Beerfestival heckeling the comedy acts except for the TCFF opening night at the City Opera House after the TCFF Opening Night OPEN BAR party. That was the night before the Beerfestival opened. Porterhouse is checking public records of any distrubances that occured at the Comedy Festival that have been previously attribuited to the Beerfestival. Last years the Comedy Festival did record business and many of the comedians requested tickets to the Beerfeet Festival that Porterhouse provided FREE OF CHARGE. You are totally correct in that Porterhouse has events for Profit, You gotta eat and pay your mortgage. They also hold many events that are not for profit. Porterhouse through the Good Work Collective does all kinds of programs for children, artist, cullinary and music intrest. Did you take your children to the Monster Pancake Throw-down this past 10/29/11? This was an event for families. Porterhouse gave over 200 tickets to local children’s causes, Father Fred to mention one. This too is also of value to the Traverse City community. Sam Never committed to changing the dates of the Beerfestival, it was the DDA in August 2011 that had scheduled the Beerfrstival on their calendar for Superbowl weekend 2012. Sam asked for the meeting to get this matter cleared up. The conclusion of the meeting was that Sam was asked to and agreeded to was to EXAMINE the prefered date of the DDA. What followed was a serries of emails from the DDA folks implying that he agreeded to the date change. In the end he did NOT agree to the date change as it was not financially or logisticially viable to have a beerfestival on superbowl weekend. As a Real Estate Broker you know that it is never a done deal untill all of the paperwork is signed “In Writing” wet copy. The same holds true in the events business. Your assertion that Porterhouse is an “Amature Promoter” leaves much to be desired. What makes you qualified to make such statement? I have worked in the events business for over 30 years in various capacities with audiance sizes ranging from 20, to 2,000,000 attendies. I think I am in a pretty good position to qualify what level that Porterhouse operates at. Porterhouse Productions is a young company they have vast depth and new ideas. As with all young companies there are things they can improve on but they are not Amature as you have asserted. You are totally correct the TCFF and the State Theater has injected new life into Downtown. Porterhouse is doing the same thing. Bringing new blood into our community on many levels. I think that there is more than enough room in Traverse City for others besided Michael Moore to do that. If you are truly interested in getting to the true facts you should go to the TCFF offices and eximane their tax records to see how much money they have donated out of the $2 Million that they take in each year. $3K in DVDs to the libary is a bit weak. At ALL Porterhouse Events they partner with LOCAL non-profits and businesses to produce their events. They hire people and the business that they work with also contrubuite to the community. The Film Festival is all volunteer and pay for the saleries of two people. Check out their saleries? I think in the end if you want to find out the real reason that the TCCAF canceled this year can be found in their offices. How many bookings did they have confirmed for the 2012 Comedy Festival? I think that the reason that the Comdey Festival cancelled resides there. Porterhouse repeatedly has reached out to the Comedy Festival to collaborate and it has been the TCFF that has refused. Together they are stronger than they are as competors and together they will benifit the common good of the Grand Traverse Area that is just good business. It is regretable if you lost a sale of a million dollar home becuase the Comedy Festival cancelled, that’s how the cookie crumbles. Take out your frustrations on the REAL person who actually cancelled the Comedy Festival, not some spin that has been put out for public consumption.
- Vicmccarty
  
  First off.. unique is a binary state.. something is either unique or not.. it is either one of a kind or not. something can’t be very or so unique.. or.. something can’t be more one of a kind that something else is also one of a kind.. but the world that comes to mind most when I hear Michael Moore’s name is: petulant.
Cindy

Dear City Commissioners, RE: Porterhouse Productions misrepresentation on moving the date for their February 2012 Microbrew Fest: Deny their Closed road Permit.Thanks for your service, doing a great job!! Appreciate all your hard work and thought you have put in to make our city so unique and so wonderfully different.19 years ago, I moved to Traverse City from the deep south. I was a newly divorced single Mom of 3 kids, no money and lots of hope. Only reason for moving here was for quality of life, and figured the rest would follow, and it did. This is a wonderful place to live. Integrity still means something, your word means something. The addition of the Traverse City Film Festival, Comedy Festival and the State Theatre gave the downtown its new personality. Without it, I believe the downtown area would go back to the samesleepy downtown it was when I first moved here. I loved the fresh air, and beautiful surroundings, but there was not a whole lot for entertainment or dining. The bean pot was considered “gourmet”, and entertainment? Whelp if the Dennos has something you were lucky. That was about it.The TCFF project infused our downtown with confidence that we could be better. Just get people together, cooperating, working together, you give your word, and people rely on it. I have never seen anything like it anywhere else I have lived. I am so proud of where I live!!I am writing to ask that when Sam Porter requests his Closed Road Permit for his Microbrew Fest in February, that he be denied for how he has behaved by manipulating city officials that he would move his Micobrew fest due to conflicts with the Comedy Festival, and at the last minute recanted his word. I don’t think its a good way to honor the hard work and dedication of our not for profit TCFF and Comedy Festival group by allowing this closed road permit for Porter’s ,for profit, drinking festival. Porter had agreed well in advance to move his date, then recanted this week. Everyone was taken by surprise. He thought he had them. I don’t think he predicted that TCCF would pull their event completely. It sends a message loud and clear. A message the City of Traverse City should support by not granting Porters permit, and asking the Comedy Festival to reconsider. At last years comedy festival there were drunks from the drunk fesitval embarrassing themselves during performances. Not the image the city wants the TCCF audience and performers who travel here to absorb. I don’t blame the Comedy Festival wanting this change. To endorse a drinking festival after Sam Porter did not keep his word sends the wrong message, and it is not at all what Traverse City is. I live and work in this town and learned real quick what you say matters.The micro brew fest was started the same weekend at the TCCF to ride on the coattails of the Comedy Festival a few years ago by this amateur promoter & self proclaimed entrepreneur from Montana.Then the TCCF realized that the drunk people coming in from the micro brew fest were causing harm and asked Porter with the DDA’s help to move his date. He agreed a long time ago, and then this week recanted that promise. I don’t think he expected the Comedy Festival would just cancel. Not in a million years. The micro brew fest will more than likely flop and be gone anyway. However, I think with all that the TCFF and TCCF has given the city, the hard work they put into the upcoming event, I think we need to send a message loud and clear that we are thankful for what they have done for our city, and we won’t endorse what Sam Porter pulled. It was plain dirty and we won’t stand for it. Hopefully from the backlash the community toward Porter’s actions, he won’t go through with it. Given his actions so far, I doubt it. I don’t have anything to gain from my position other than one Traverse City Business person and property owner who is very thankful to the State Theatre group, TCFF and TCCF for what they have brought to our community, and if we don’t stand for keeping ones word, then we become “anywhere USA.” TC is more than that. Thank you for your time. Cindy AndersonSenior Associate BrokerColdwell Banker, Schmidt Realtors522 E. Front StreetTraverse City, Mi 49686231.218.5324www.traversecityproperties.netwww.mytraversecitymls.com Serving NW Michigan for over 17 years.
Guest

Damn, was really looking forward to it. Don’t know why they can’t be at the same time like last year. I didn’t notice any problems with it.
Guest

Damn, was really looking forward to it. Don’t know why they can’t be at the same time like last year. I didn’t notice any problems with it.
Dianna – ProMich

Hey Carrie…do some research! The TC Winter Microbrew & Music Fest has ALWAYS been on the second weekend in February! After its first year, MM’s Comedy Fest ENCROACHED on that when it moved from the third to the second weekend – and now is claiming that the beer fest moved into HIS weekend! Why couldn’t the Comedy Fest schedule for the FIRST weekend in February? MM is just running his mouth and throwing his weight around like a playground bully!