Comedy Festival Guide
Families and adults watching a show at a small stage in the Gluttony garden at night
Questions, answered · By place

What comedy festivals are in Illinois?

The short answer

Two comedy festivals in Illinois have dates ahead on the Guide. The next to open is the 312 Comedy Festival, 5–15 November 2026, in Chicago, IL. The furthest ahead is the Windy City Comedy Festival (5–8 August 2027). Two put on stand-up.

Coming up in Illinois, soonest first

  • The Chicago Theatre on State Street at night, its tall CHICAGO sign and marquee lit
    312 Comedy Festival · 5–15 November 2026 · Chicago, IL · Stand-up Tickets ↗
    The 312 Comedy Festival spends eleven days of November on stand-up in Chicago and Rosemont, setting arena and theatre headliners beside club comics, with live talk shows, a roast battle and a documentary screening between them.
  • The Chicago River at night, the Loop's towers lit on both banks
    Windy City Comedy Festival · 5–8 August 2027 · Chicago, IL · Stand-up
    The Windy City Comedy Festival, a four-day showcase of comics from Chicago and beyond, was founded and is led by Chicago stand-up Ariel Julie as artistic director, and runs as a fiscally sponsored nonprofit.

Between editions

Their last festival has run and the next dates are still to come.

  • A banner of the festival's own photos: comedians with microphones
    Whats Funny Comedy Festival · 19–26 September 2026 · Chicago, IL · Stand-up Tickets ↗
    Whats Funny Comedy Festival fills a week in Chicago with stand-up showcases, live podcast tapings, panels and parties, set up to give Black and Brown comedians a bigger stage.

Beyond Illinois

The Guide's finder holds every comedy festival with dates ahead, 130 round the world, soonest first: comedy festivals in every country.

312's talk shows and specials

At Park West the 312 Comedy Festival puts on talk shows and a karaoke night: The Lauren & Mary Show at 7pm on Thursday 5 November 2026, Rickey Smiley's Karaoke Show on Saturday 7 November, Clash Talk, billed as a competitive talk show, on Sunday 8 November, and Dysfunctional Friends, with Herman Wrice and Aaron Branch, at 7:30pm on Friday 13 November. The Vic Theatre screens a documentary about the comedian John Pinette at 3pm on Saturday 7 November, with its filmmaker taking questions afterward. On Wednesday 11 November, Veterans Day, Zanies Rosemont holds a Veterans Day Laugh Off at 7pm and Zanies Chicago a Roast Battle at 9:30pm.

Entering Windy City 2027

Comics can enter the Windy City Comedy Festival's 2027 edition from 1 November 2026 until 14 February 2027 with one continuous set of 5 to 7 minutes of original material, not a best-of or highlight reel; an unlisted clip is accepted, a private or password-protected one is not. Comics must be 21 or older before 5 August 2027, its opening day, a mixed panel of judges watches every clip, and those chosen hear in April 2027. The general fee is $25 and a late entry $30, with a cheaper early-bird rate before that, and no fee is refunded.

From the airports by train

Both Chicago airports have L stations. O'Hare's is on the lower-level concourse joined to Terminals 1, 2 and 3, and passengers landing at Terminal 5 reach it on the free airport shuttle train; Blue Line trains leave it at every hour of every day and take 40 to 45 minutes to downtown. The CTA's own comparison puts the train at $5 or less against a taxi at around $40, and two further rides within two hours are free on the same Ventra Card, contactless bank card or phone. At Midway the Orange Line station sits just east of the terminal, joined to it by an enclosed walkway, and every train runs to the downtown Loop in 20 to 25 minutes, for $2.50 or less.

Plan the trip

Every guide, soonest first

Sources

More questions

Facts as of 31 October 2026. Festivals change their plans: confirm on the festival's own site before you book. Every question