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Friday, Nov. 06, 2009

Hard Hat Comedy Show a benefit for local food bank

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Since the economy turned sour, people need laughs more than ever.

Volvo Rents, a provider of construction equipment with locations in Salida and Merced, is helping out with its national Hardhat Comedy tour.

The event stops in Modesto tonight with appearances by Matt Kazam of NBC's "Last Comic Standing," Comedy Central's "Stand- Stand-Up" and VH1's "Fools for Love," plus Sacramento comedians DJ Mervin and Eric Miller.

"It's definitely geared toward a blue-collar audience," Kazam said in a phone interview, adding that the jokes will be PG-13. "It's maybe good not-so-clean fun — but relatively clean."

Kazam, who lives in Washington, D.C., but speaks in a strong accent from his native New York City, said he likes to play off his ethnicity because no one knows what he is.

"My mother is a Jewish girl from New York," he said. "My Dad is Iranian. I came out Puerto Rican."

The show was originally geared for out-of-work construction workers — the customers of Volvo Rents — but it expanded to be for everyone and turned into a fund-raiser for community charities that aid the poor. The Modesto show is a benefit for Second Harvest Food Bank. Admission is three nonperishable food items, a frozen turkey or a donation.

"This one is for Thanksgiving," Kazam said. "Maybe we'll get 150 turkeys. People will have a great Thanksgiving because of this."

Helder Garcia, co-owner of Volvo Rents in Salida and Merced, said he is happy to organize something to help out the community for the holidays and make people feel good.

"I want to put a smile on our customers' faces and on our friends' and neighbors' and new friends' to come," he said.