That's a wrap for 2018
Thanks to all the performers, staff, volunteers and comedy fans who came together to make this one of our best years yet. This festival wouldn't be the same without all of you. We'll see you next year!
Let's especially take a moment to thank our generous sponsors and venues for 2018:
Title Sponsor
Partner Sponsor
Comedy Works Entertainment is a diversified company specializing in the production and booking of live comedy events. Whether it be managing the careers of some of the most unique and talented comedians in the business, promoting a show at a theatre, coordinating talent for corporate events, casinos, colleges, or fundraising organizations, or producing specials for television and DVD distribution, we continually develop and expand our operations into all relative areas of the live comedy. We are an affiliate of the Comedy Works clubs in Denver (est. 1981) and Greenwood Village, CO (est. 2008), two of the premier stand-up venues in the U.S.
Premier Sponsors
Bigtop Studios is a national and international independent film production house founded by Denver-native, now Los Angeles based comedian Jim Hickox. Aside from producing and sponsoring Denver’s best and longest running comedy shows, our preliminary projects have been comedy shorts, web-series and a string of television pilots, but in 2018, Bigtop has begun producing feature-length wide-release films in Berlin, Tel Aviv, Melbourne, and Los Angeles. The goal being to make a welcoming, one-stop-shop for creatives and visionaries. Step Right Up!
truTV offers an innovative and entertaining look at the real world through authentic characters, humorous situations and engaging storytelling. The network is home to the scripted comedy Those Who Can’t which returns for a third season of laughs later this year. The series is created by and stars The Grawlix—former Denver darlings whose homecoming show is always a High Plains high point.
Supporting Sponsors
From the Hip Photo is proud to return as a three-time sponsor of High Plains, as well as lots of awesome comedy, art, and non-profit events here in Colorado (where we donate 20% of our business back into the community).
Powered by a caring, full-time team of five artists, From the Hip provides fresh photos for people and businesses alike. Our creative images and the gushworthy way we take care of everyone we team up with have made us the state's best-reviewed photographers.
Whether you're looking for headshots, portraits, wedding or event coverage, photos for your biz, or just need a hott new Tinder profile pic, we want to work with you. Visit our studio at Stanley Marketplace or check us out online: @fromthehipphoto or fromthehipphoto.com.
Westword was born back in 1977, when Denver was booming. Thousands of baby boomers were fleeing the coasts, lured to Colorado by the climate, the scenery, and the promise of endlessly flowing Coors. But with the deluge came a dilemma: so many young, active people -- and so little that told them what was happening in their increasingly dynamic city. That’s where Westword came in.
Today, Denver is again booming, welcoming another generation of young adults lured by the climate, the scenery, the country's highest concentration of microbreweries, and, yes, the promise of legal marijuana. More than 1.6 million monthly active users go to westword.com to find stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who’ve won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.
Westword also gives back to the city with live events such as Artopia, our annual celebration of the arts, and the Westword Music Showcase, which every summer brings national headliners and scores of Denver’s best local bands to a dozen venues in the Golden Triangle. In August, we highlight Denver's favorite food at Tacolandia; in September, we broaden the menu to shine the spotlight on Denver's entire dining scene at Feast.
Four decades after its founding, Westword remains the voice of Denver for faithful readers who appreciate hard-hitting journalism. And better beer.
Contributing Sponsors
New Belgium Brewing Company, makers of Fat Amber Ale and other Belgian-inspired beers, began operations in a tiny Fort Collins basement in 1991. Today, the third largest craft brewer in the U.S., New Belgium produces seven year-round beers: Fat Tire Amber Ale, Sunshine Wheat, Blue Paddle Pilsner, 1554 Black Ale, Abbey, Mothership Wit and Trippel, as well as a host of seasonal releases. In addition to producing world-class beers, New Belgium takes pride in being a responsible corporate role model with progressive programs such as employee ownership, open book management and a commitment to environmental stewardship.
Stem Ciders is a craft cidery headquartered in Lafayette, Colorado. Founded in 2013 by Eric Foster and Phil Kao, two passionate entrepreneurs with a deep appreciation for craft, and a strong commitment to reviving the cider tradition, Stem produces cider founded on three main principles: quality, style, and tradition. From the first batch of cider produced in 2011 – now known as Real Dry Apple Cider, to our seasonal ciders and monthly Firkin experiments, we’re committed to producing the highest quality cider that brings those traditions to the forefront.
Launched in 2010, Deep Eddy Vodka is a premium vodka company born in Austin, Texas. The company was founded by two entrepreneurs with a background in beverage and spirits, Chad Auler (creator of Savvy Vodka) and Clayton Christopher (creator of Sweet Leaf Tea). Deep Eddy is recognized for its unique production process and use of high quality ingredients. All Deep Eddy products are distilled 10 times in a state-of-the-art 20-foot column still, filtered over charcoal four times, and include premium ingredients including Texas spring water, corn, real honey and tea, grapefruit, cranberry and lemon. The company’s products include: Deep Eddy Straight Vodka, Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka, Deep Eddy Ruby, Deep Eddy Cranberry (Cran), Deep Eddy Lemon, Deep Eddy Peach, and our latest release Deep Eddy Orange Vodka. Deep Eddy Vodka is available in stores throughout the country.
PBR is not just any beer—so you would expect the history to be a bit unusual, and it is. Pabst was originally called "Select," but people started asking for that "Blue Ribbon" beer in 1882 when we started tying silk ribbons to the bottles. We officially added the words "Blue Ribbon" to the bottle in 1895. Today, this classic American brew has been adopted by a whole new generation of PBR drinkers. Currently, PBR is one of the fastest growing domestic beer brands. When you're this good, quality always comes through—PBR ME ASAP!
At LivWell, we’re more than just a dispensary. We’re scientists, inventors, farmers, experts and pioneers in the development of the cannabis industry. We know exactly how powerful marijuana can be, and we want to use that power for good. We want to protect our patients’ right to access high-quality medicine. We want to encourage education and responsible use. We want to help cannabis shed its highly unwarranted stigma and pick up the medicinal credit we know it deserves. We know that the world of cannabis has come a long way in the last decade. But we also know that our work is far from done.
Denver Open Media (DOM) is the culmination of the Open Media Foundation's innovative vision for putting the power of the media in the hands of the community. Designed to ensure all communities have the media and technology resources they need to engage in local and global communications, DOM offers state-of-the-art video equipment, as well as media distribution via the Internet and our three community-programmed television channels.
Patron Sponsor
Sexy Pizza
More than a decade old and boasting 3 Denver locations, we're entrepreneurs and drug/social policy advocates supporting Denver's creatives and underserved populations…and we make a damn fine pizza.
Sexpot Comedy
30 live shows per month, 20+ podcasts, political hijinks, free production equipment and spaces for local creatives, and Super Troopers 2. Just a sampling of this multi-platform media enterprise spreading its tentacles out from the Denver comedy scene and into the world at large.
Festival Friends
HomeAdvisor is an easy way for homeowners to find and connect with trusted home improvement, maintenance and repair professionals. A leading online home improvement marketplace, we’ve connected more millions homeowners to our network to hundreds of thousands of prescreened home service professionals covering over 500 different types of projects.
“The Alamo Drafthouse Theater is good food, good beer and good film, all at the same place!”
That’s how we described ourselves in 1997, and that mission hasn’t changed and will never, ever change. For over two decades we’ve worked to make the Alamo Drafthouse experience the best cinematic experience in the world.
VENUES
1621 GLENARM PLACE
ALL AGES VENUE
Paramount Theatre is Denver’s best intimate concert venue! Built by Temple Buell for Publix Theatres in 1930, the Paramount Theatre instantly surpassed the standards of the dozens of theatres that lined the streets of Denver and has remained the only local theatre of its time to maintain its original dignity and glamour.
2 SOUTH BROADWAY
ALL AGES VENUE
Welcome to MUTINY Information Cafe.
The mission is to create a place that people can shop for gently used books, finger through tons of records, pick-up their favorite comics, and enjoy well made coffee in an environment that stimulates the mind as well as the senses. Offering great coffee at a reasonable price, a large diverse selection of used/new books, records and comics, and fascinating live musicians, comedians, authors, and performers.
7 SOUTH BROADWAY
21+ VENUE
The Hi-Dive opened November 19, 2003 when a young couple purchased the business. Inspired by years spent living in New York City and the amazing talent and creativity of Denver’s music scene, The Hi-Dive has quickly become one of the most important new venues in town and the only place for hip new bands to be heard and seen.
60 SOUTH BROADWAY
21+ VENUE
Denver's Premiere Rock Establishment. Serving Booze, Bands and Buddies 365 days a year. Denver's best live music, pinball, pool, video games, lotto & scratch tickets and some of the best booze prices in Denver.
Welcome all humans.
At Illegal Pete’s we celebrate humanity. We celebrate individuality. We celebrate relationships and connections. And most importantly we celebrate every human’s need for tasty food, stiff drinks and good times. Well, maybe it’s not a need, but it’s certainly a want. Either way, it’s our desire to make each Illegal Pete’s location the kind of place where you can go to celebrate humanity with other humans.