Jan. 15—By Ayanna Eckblad
A special fundraiser on Friday will be at Hope Church in downtown Albert Lea benefiting Hollandale Christian School. The event is a show by comedian Tim Boyd.
There will be a social hour at 6 p.m. with the show starting at 7 p.m.
Although he lives in Florida, Boyd performs all over the country, mainly in Southern and Midwestern states. This will be his fifth show in Minnesota in the past six months.
Originally from South Dakota, Boyd worked for many years as a pastor, following in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. Boyd’s grandfather worked in southern Minnesota.
Boyd now lives in Florida with his wife of 25 years and their five children.
Boyd’s career in comedy began about five years ago when some members of his congregation gave him comedy classes as a Christmas gift.
Boyd said he guessed he spoke about wanting to become a comedian in his sermons more than he thought he did.
He found he loved comedy and decided to pursue it as a full-time career shortly after. In addition to comedy, Boyd also directs a nonprofit, Guardian Angels of Southwest Florida, which builds large houses for foster families so sibling groups can be in the same home together.
Boyd does comedy shows primarily in fundraising settings. He said he loves to support any Christian nonprofit that works with children.
It was at a fundraiser in Austin in October when Boyd met a representative from Hollandale Christian School, who invited him to do Friday’s event.
Boyd said he is thrilled to help the ministry of Hollandale Christian School to go forward.
As excited as he is to perform Friday, Boyd said he is most looking forward to the social hour that will precede the show.
“I’m an extreme extrovert,” he said, adding that he loves meeting people and hearing their stories.
People can sometimes be afraid of going to comedy shows, Boyd said, because they are afraid that they will get singled out and made fun of, or the comedian will say something offensive. Boyd said his comedy is not like that.
“I don’t make fun of people so you don’t have to worry about telling the comedian too much,” he said. “It’s all clean and happy and nice.”
Boyd describes his work as “relatable comedy.” He bases many of his jokes on experiences he has with his children and other things most people go through. When something irritates or annoys him, he said, rather than get angry, he makes jokes about it.
He said he draws some inspiration from comedians like Jim Gaffigan, Tom Papa and Brian Regan. He has also been compared to Jerry Seinfeld, though Boyd himself humbly disagrees that he is at that level.
Boyd said he hopes people come away from his show with a renewed sense of happiness. People have a lot to deal with these days and there is a lot of anxiety, he said. Laughter is a way to heal some of that.
“I think God created laughter and laughter helps us feel good, so I think it’s a good thing,” he said.
The evening should feel like hanging out with that funny guy in your friend group, he said, only it will be better because he’s a professional.
“It will be super awesome,” he said. “It should just be a refreshing, fun night.”
Tickets to the show are $25 and can be purchased at https://givebutter.com/HCScomedynight. Ticket availability is limited. According to the Hollandale Christian School Facebook page, the event is geared toward adults.