By Stephanie Wilks
August 27, 2012

Tommy Johnagin working the crowd with his shtick

“Well, thanks for having me to your overpass…” announced comedian Tommy Johnagin as a semi-truck broke loudly overhead. The sixth annual Cincinnati Brew Ha-Ha at Sawyer Point kicked off Friday to thousands of laughs, dozens of Cincinnati vendors, and over 80 different beers on tap. With beautiful weather and free admission, the noisy traffic on the Dan C. Beard Bridge was the only possible complaint.

If you haven’t attended Brew Ha Ha before, it’s a great excuse to enjoy Sawyer Point with a group of your friends and sample a variety of different beers whilst critiquing 50+ comedians on their quality of jokes from a rating of “ehh” to “ha ha ha” to literal “lol-ing.” What I liked best was that I wasn’t required to do a lot of walking to get from one stage to the next (total of four), or to find a beer on tap that looked tasty.

Anthony DiPerna, Bryon Martin, Tim Barker, and Troy Lewis of Premium Beverage Supply

Comedian Tom Green; photo credit: ChicagoNow.com

The laughter was certainly a-brewin’. Standout comedians this year included Tom Green, Troy Baxley, Tommy Johnagin, Carlos Alazraqui, and Shane Mauss. Thankfully Tom Green didn’t arrive Friday night in a venus fly trap costume or barge into any of our radio stations in a disco outfit singing the “WKRP in Cincinnati” theme song. He did, however, sing some comedic tunes, tell some jokes, and packed the lawn with plenty of grinning Cincinnatians Friday night as the headlining act.

When I was forced to walk away from the comedy because my sides were cramping and my cheeks were hurting, I stumbled on a few new local vendors like C’est Cheese. Emily Frank opened the gourmet grilled cheese food truck less than two months ago. The sandwich she made me was so  melt-in-your-mouth good that I’m going to have to hunt down her next truck stop and enjoy the scrumptious cheesy dish later this week.

Shhh, don’t tell my friends, but I’ve found my new go-to site for birthday gifts. Cincy Shirts, a company founded last summer, dazzled me at their booth with an impressive selection of humorous and attractive Cincinnati-themed shirts. And I wasn’t the only one ogling the merch; a dude fixated on a vintage-looking Pete Rose shirt that read, “everyday I’m hustlin” nearly trampled me on his way to get a closer look.

Nick McKee, Maureen Bickley, Laura McKee, Tom Hankinson, and Holly Hankinson

Bryan Jones, Laura Parsons, and Heather Budd

All-in-all The Brew Ha-Ha was “a real gag.” The laughs were plentiful, the brew was a flowin’, the breeze was a blowin’, and we all enjoyed ourselves. Truly, there isn’t much more you can ask for on a late summer’s weekend than some comedy and beer with friends.

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