Watford City Comedy Café Starring John Crist, Friday Oct. 27

The second annual Comedy Café, starring comedian John Crist, is scheduled for Friday, October 27, at 7PM Central at the Watford City Performing Arts Center at Watford City High School.

The evening will kick off at 7PM with a short opener, featuring country music by North Dakota native Lexi Wyman. The featured comedian, John Crist, will follow with stand-up comedy. Crist, a retired Olympic decathlete, is an up-and-coming sensation, having been featured on ESPN and BuzzFeed, and endorsed by Jeff Foxworthy. Crist's YouTube videos, like "Millennial International", and "Road Rage in the Church Parking Lot", have over 200 million views. A Georgia native, Crist is the third of eight homeschooled children of a church pastor, and is quoted as saying, "Coming from a background like that, how do you NOT write jokes?" To view videos of Crist's comedy, visit http://www.johncristcomedy.com. Lexi Wyman will close out the night with more country music, while locally-made desserts will be served in the lobby. To preview Wyman's work, visit http://www.lexiwyman.com.

The Comedy Café is now an annual event presented as a fundraiser for the Bakken Oil Ministry. The Ministry began in 2013 after meetings with community leaders to find a way to meet the needs of new incoming families. Community leaders said there "were a lot of people coming in their cars, coming with nothing, and if there was a place where they could come and get basic clothing and kitchen items that would be helpful," said Jim Konsor, the founding pastor of the ministry. "We serve people who have been struggling and come to Watford hoping to make it. We want to be the helping hand between where they come with nothing and get established and are happy to be in Watford," Konsor said.

The ministry started as a mobile thrift store, operating out of an enclosed trailer, where they gave away everything. For the first few years, the United Methodist Church sustained the ministry, which has now grown to occupy a rented building and a Quonset, and has expanded services to offer furniture and other goods. "We do what we call minimal pricing," Konsor explained. "It's enough to pay our rent and nothing else." The ministry is now looking at purchasing the store building, and they are working toward becoming self-sustaining. The Comedy Café is the major fundraiser for the year to fund the ministry.

There are 450 seats in the Watford City Performing Arts Center, and Konsor hopes to fill every one. "We're striving to raise between 40-50 thousand dollars. Last year we raised 36 thousand, between tickets and donations and sponsorships," Konsor said. All proceeds go to further the work of the ministry.

Tickets to the show are available online at http://www.itickets.com. Tickets are $25 per person, and a dinner and show package is $90 per couple. The Performing Arts Center is located at Watford City High School, at 2313 Wolves Den Parkway, Watford City. For more information, visit the Facebook page at fb.me/comedycafeborm. To donate to the Bakken Oil Rush Ministry, contact Jim Konsor at 605-268-0058 or [email protected]. Ministry store hours are Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12 to 5:30. They are located at 600 12th St. NE., just north of the lights by the airport.