JAMESTOWN — The National Comedy Center, the nation’s official museum and cultural institution dedicated to comedy, will begin public on-sale for the 2020 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival today at noon, including performances by comedian Jeff Foxworthy, and Saturday Night Live legends David Spade, Rob Schneider and Kevin Nealon. Tickets can be purchased at www.comedycenter.org.

Late night comedy shows, Lucy legacy events and a kids comedy show will also go on public sale today with additional festival events to be announced in the coming months, in a lineup that will celebrate comedy’s contemporary stars, rising voices, and historic legacies.

Jeff Foxworthy, the largest-selling comedian of all time with more than 13 million albums sold, will be performing on Friday, Aug. 7.

Foxworthy is one of the most respected and successful comedians in the country, a multiple Grammy Award nominee and a best-selling author of 26 books. Widely known for his redneck jokes, his act goes well beyond that to explore the humor in everyday family interactions and human nature, with a style that has been compared to Mark Twain’s.

The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival will mark the 45th anniversary of Saturday Night Live this year with three of SNL’s most popular performers: David Spade, Rob Schneider and Kevin Nealon. The “Legends of SNL” show will take place on Saturday, August 8, as the National Comedy Center reunites these comedic talents on stage for an extraordinary stand-up comedy show.

David Spade, Rob Schneider and Kevin Nealon were all part of the cast and writing team of SNL during a pivotal era for the NBC show in the 1990’s. Each of them created memorable and beloved characters throughout their run on the show, and each were nominated for Emmy awards as part of the SNL writing team.

Both Foxworthy’s performance on Aug. 7 and the Legends of SNL show on Aug. 8 will be held in Jamestown’s Northwest Arena, adjacent to the National Comedy Center complex.

The acclaimed National Comedy Center and the Lucy Desi Museum are available for tour experiences throughout the festival, with new exhibits and new artifacts debuting at both museums this spring and summer.

David Spade is currently the host of Comedy Central’s late night show “Lights Out with David Spade.” He was nominated for an Emmy and Golden Globe Award for his memorable role in the popular TV comedy “Just Shoot Me” and co-starred with SNL’s Chris Farley in the feature films “Tommy Boy” and “Blacksheep.” Spade continues to appear in feature films and make guest appearances on television. He has several well-received stand-up comedy specials, including the 2014 Comedy Center special “David Spade: My Fake Problems.”

Rob Schneider has starred in some of the biggest comedy feature films of the past 20 years, including “Grown Ups,” “Waterboy, and “Big Daddy.” He also starred the movie “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” and created and starred in the Netflix docu-series “Real Rob,” which focuses on the day-to-day hijinks of Rob’s life.

Kevin Nealon was one of the longest-running cast members in SNL history. He has received critical acclaim for his role in the Showtime series “Weeds,” and currently stars on the CBS comedy “Man with a Plan” and produces and hosts the digital series “Hiking with Kevin.” His extensive film career includes “Anger Management,” Eight Crazy Nights,” “The Wedding Singer” and “Happy Gilmore.”

The Lucille Ball Comedy Festival is presented by the National Comedy Center and embodies Lucille Ball’s vision for her hometown, Jamestown, New York, to be a destination for the celebration of the comedic arts and to showcase new comedic talent from around the country. The festival attracts over 15,000 attendees annually from nearly every state in the country, who come together to share laughter while honoring the craft and contributors on stage at dozens of venues throughout Jamestown, including the National Comedy Center and the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum.

Last year’s Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, which featured comedians Sebastian Maniscalco and John Mulaney, was the largest festival in its history. In 2018, the festival celebrated the grand opening of the National Comedy Center and featured Amy Schumer, Lily Tomlin and a panel of original “Saturday Night Live” performers and writers including Dan Aykroyd, Laraine Newman and Alan Zweibel.

Now in its 30th year, the festival has featured comedy’s greatest stars and rising young comedians, including Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, Trevor Noah, Lily Tomlin, Jay Leno, Amy Schumer, Brian Regan, Lewis Black, W. Kamau Bell, Jim Gaffigan, Paula Poundstone, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Rivers, Bob Newhart, the Smothers Brothers and more than one hundred other comedic artists.

About the National Comedy Center

The National Comedy Center is the United States’ official cultural institution and museum dedicated to presenting the vital story of comedy and preserving its heritage for future generations, as formally designated by the U.S. Congress in 2019. Opened in August 2018 in Jamestown, the museum complex offers an unprecedented visitor experience using state-of-the-art technology, interactivity and personalization to create the first true 21st Century museum environment.

USA Today just named the National Comedy Center the “Best New Museum” in the country. TIME selected the National Comedy Center as one of its “World’s Greatest Places,” one of only “100 new and newly noteworthy destinations to experience right now” and one of only nine attractions to visit in the United States. Conde Nast Traveler called the National Comedy Center “One of the best museums in the country,” while People magazine named it one of “100 Reasons to Love America.” The National Comedy Center was also voted a “Best New Attraction” in the county, ranking #2 out of 20 new attractions by USA Today readers, and chosen as the #1 museum and #1 ticketed attraction. Comedy industry authority The Interrobang named the design team second on its list of “Innovators Who Changed Comedy” in 2018. Visitors from all 50 states and nine countries have given the Center a rare 5/5 raring on TripAdvisor, ranking among the highest in the attraction and tourism industry.

Based on the vision of Jamestown native Lucille Ball for her hometown to become a destination for comedy, the National Comedy Center showcases comedy’s great minds and unique voices in ways that engage, inspire, educate and entertain. As a non-profit institution, the National Comedy Center was funded by a mix of federal, state and private philanthropic support, including partnerships with I LOVE NY, Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York State’s Empire State Development.

Design for the National Comedy Center was led by the most prominent cultural and interactive design firms in the world, whose portfolios collectively include the award-winning 9/11 Memorial Museum, The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, The College Football Hall of Fame, SNL: The Experience, and more.

The National Comedy Center has been embraced by the entertainment industry, with props, costumes and archival material provided by many of the most revered names in comedy. The Comedy Center recently announced a major initiative to preserve Carl Reiner’s personal “Dick Van Dyke Show” script archive. Exhibition partners include the Kelly Carlin and the George Carlin estate, George Shapiro and Jerry Seinfeld, Dan Aykroyd, Alan and Robin Zweibel, Joan Dangerfield, The Lenny Bruce Memorial Foundation, Lily Tomlin and Jane Wagner, The Harold Ramis Family, The Garry Shandling Estate, George Schlatter, Bill Marx and the Harpo Marx Family, the Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams estate, Desilu Too, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros. Corporate Archive, and many more.

The National Comedy Center operates the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum, which explores the lives, careers and legacy of the “First Couple of Comedy,” and the incredible impact they had on the world.