Local comedian stands up for mental health awareness

Local comedian Al Babcock is fighting mental health stigma with a night of local entertainment called ‘It’s All In Your Head’ taking place at the Grad Club at the end of the month.

The event will feature performances from local comedians, spoken word artists, poets, and musicians, and be emceed by Babcock.

Babcock has been extensively involved in the Kingston amateur comedy scene as both a performer and organizer. His monthly open mic night at Tommy’s just celebrated its one year anniversary, and the two Kingston ‘Tinder Tales’ live comedy/storytelling events he hosted sold out.

“I’ve done comedy for three years, but I’ve never really spoken on how it affects me, or the fact that I use comedy as my therapy,” Babcock said, explaining that he wants to provide others the opportunity to share in the cathartic value of performance. “People have different mediums that they like to share, whether it be comedy or poetry, music, and I just want to kind of bring that all together. I wanted to use my resources to do something.”

Spokespeople from local mental health organizations will be present to provide information on community resources, including a representative from the Maltby centre, a registered charity providing community-based mental health and autism services to children and youth in Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox & Addington. The Iron King, a veteran-owned and -operated gym in Kingston’s west end that caters to service personnel and others who wish to combat mental illness with an active lifestyle, will also be on site for the event.

There will also be a raffle with over $2,000 of prizes donated from local businesses. Prizes are wellness-themed, and include yoga classes and spa packages.

Babcock said that the event has “already sold quite a few tickets” and that he expected the event to sell out.

“This isn’t a stand up comedy event,” said Babcock. “It’s mental health awareness, just an entertainment event. There’s going to be a little bit of something for everybody involved.”
‘It’s All in Your Head’ will take place from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Jul. 31, 2019 at the Grad Club. For more information on the event and lineup, see the Facebook event page. Tickets are available on the ticketscene event page.