The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, N.Y. announced Thursday the postponement of the 30th annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival until August 4-8, 2021. 

Comedy Center officials cite state and federal guidance limiting large gatherings to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 as the reason for the postponement. 

This year's festival was scheduled for August 5-9. 

All events, including the Jeff Foxworthy and Legends of SNL performances, have been rescheduled for next year's event.

Jeff Foxworthy will perform on Friday, August 6, 2021. The Legends of SNL: David Spade, Kevin Nealon and Rob Schneider has been rescheduled for Saturday, August 7, 2021.

An updated schedule of events for the festival is available here. 

Ticket holders have the following options: 

  • Transfer tickets to the same shows and events for the 2021 festival. New ticket will automatically be issued to ticket holders within the next several weeks
  • Donate the value of their tickets to the non-profit National Comedy Center as a tax-deductible contribution during this critical time
  • Exchange the value of their tickets for a National Comedy Center gift card to be used for admission, membership, future event tickets or merchandise
  • Receive a full refund for their ticket purchase by selecting this option by July 15, 2020

For more information on these options, ticket holders can visit the National Comedy Center website.  

Those who wish to purchase tickets for 2021 festival events can do so starting June 15. 

As a further precaution during the COVID-19 crisis, the National Comedy Center will be canceling its 'Comedy Under the Stars' free outdoor movie night series for 2020, which was to feature ten film comedies presented for the local community and museum visitors on the Comedy Center’s jumbo video screens on select Fridays throughout the summer and early fall. The Comedy Center plans to reschedule this series for 2021.

The National Comedy Center does plan to re-open its state-of-the-art comedy museum and Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum this summer with enhanced health, cleaning, disinfecting and social distancing protocols once western New York is given the green light to reopen cultural institutions and museums (Phase 4 of Governor Cuomo's reopening plan).