Paul Myrehaug is pretty sure he can “find the funny in anything.”

Born and raised in Camrose, Alta., Myrehaug began exercising his funny bone in the classroom.

“My teachers would get annoyed with me,” he admitted. “One of them would even once in a while let me do time after class. He would let me get up in front of the class and let me sing songs and tell jokes.”

Even then, making people laugh meant something to him. “It’s fun for me, because I know people need to laugh. Quite often people come to standup comic shows when they’ve had something unpleasant happen and they need to laugh it off.”

As is often the case, his own unpleasant memories have become part of the show.

“One bit is about having an adult circumcision, actually,” he said. “You can imagine how terrible an experience that was. My first show after the procedure, I talked about it for 20 minutes and it didn’t seem so daunting afterwards. I can find the funny in anything.”

Though he now calls Vancouver home, the laughter rolls on, as do the successes. Myrehaug placed second in the Seattle Comedy Competition and has appeared in his own comedy special on CTV and the Comedy Network. He’s also appeared on specials for the Halifax Comedy Festival and Just for Laughs.

Plus, there’s the highlight of his career, winning the $25,000 grand prize in the Great Canadian Laugh Off – an international competition that starts with thousands of comics from around the world. The field gets whittled down to the top 64, who compete in Toronto for one of eight TV spots to be aired on the Comedy Network.

“It was good to know I could swing with the best all over the world,” Myrehaug said.

This Saturday (Nov. 22) he and fellow comedian Toby Hargrave team up to bring those laughs to the Island for a show at the Charlie White Theatre at the Mary Winspear Centre in Sidney. The event is a fundraiser for Peninsula Minor Hockey Association.

The two comics started out at roughly the same time, “fighting it out at amateur night” in prairie comedy clubs.

“He’s hilarious and after the show he’s about the nicest guy in the world,” Myrehaug said of his co-headliner. “Toby is the guy that is everybody’s favourite … he’s very talented too. He went from amateur night to (going) on the road in about four months. No one’s seen anything like that before.”

In the past eight years, Hargrave has toured internationally and covered Canada. He has appeared as a guest star in the CW’s **Aliens in America**, was voted Funniest Comedian in Vancouver at the Vancouver Comedy Festival and was named Corner Gas Comic Genius finalist.

“He had the highest-rated standup comedy special to air on CTV in 2007,” Myrehaug added. “He’s just a very popular guy, and he does it all with a smile on his face.”

With no regular venue for standup comics, the duo thought Sidney might be an ideal place for a FreeFoodandBeer.com show.

“We started this website FreeFoodandBeer ... what we wanted to do is kick it up to the next level as far as venues go, because both of us have had some success,” Myrehaug said.

The show is suitable for adults aged 18 and older.

“In a theatre we always ‘church it up,’ so to speak, but it’s still live standup comedy. It’s still uncensored,” Myrehaug said. “Bottom line – it’s funny.”

The show starts at 8 p.m. in the Charlie White Theatre. Tickets are $26.50 available by calling 250-656-0275. The tour hits the Artspring Theatre on Saltspring Island on Friday (Nov. 21) and the Sooke Legion Nov. 23. Visit www.freefoodandbeer.com for more information on the three Island shows.

reporter@peninsulanewsreview.com