Comic Relief Launches Neighborhood Festivals in LA and Philadelphia to Tackle Childhood Poverty

Comic Relief is launching its first-ever Neighborhood Festivals, free comedy events in Los Angeles and Philadelphia that pair live performances with local nonprofits working to end childhood poverty. The organisation, led by CEO Michele Ganeless, says one in six children in America lives in poverty — a statistic the festivals aim to push back on by connecting audiences directly with groups already doing the work on the ground (Variety).

The first festival takes over the Paramount Pictures Studio lot in Los Angeles on Saturday, 19 September 2026, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free but advance registration is required through comicrelief.org or the official Eventbrite page. Comic Relief's social channels describe the day as a mix of live comedy, music, food, and games, all framed around giving back (Instagram; Facebook).

The LA lineup leans into the city's comedy institutions. The Groundlings and the Upright Citizens Brigade's "Wildly Appropriate" are both on the bill, alongside Story Pirates, YADA's "Rockin' Awesome Improv Show," and local DJs. The Philadelphia festival follows on 24 October, though the venue, time, and performer list are still to be announced (Variety).

Running alongside the festivals is a satirical national campaign built around a fictional nonprofit called "Not Our Problem." A mock PSA, directed by Brad Morris, features deadpan testimonials from people explaining why childhood poverty is simply not their concern. The joke, of course, is that it is. Viewers who visit NotOurProblem.org land on Comic Relief's website, where real resources for helping children in poverty are collected (Variety).

The "Not Our Problem" angle is the sharper edge of a campaign that otherwise trades in warmth and community. Satire and street-level festivals are very different tools, but both serve the same goal: moving people from awareness to action.

Comic Relief has form on this. In 2002, the organisation planned fundraising events across 14 cities, recruiting top-name comedians to headline each one, with proceeds supporting Comic Relief's work (Variety, 2002). The Neighborhood Festivals are smaller in scale — two cities, free entry, a focus on local nonprofits rather than headline stars — but the model is familiar: comedy as the draw, poverty relief as the destination.

The organisation's "Take a Stand" page, titled "Childhood Poverty is Everyone's Problem," confirms the LA date and frames the festivals as part of a broader push to make the issue visible (Comic Relief). Registration is open now.