The idea for the festival is to collect the top sketch comedy troupes we’ve encountered on our various national festival experiences and have them each come to Portland to perform a 45-minute set over a single whirlwind weekend. The element that sets this festival apart from the growing number of national sketch comedy fests is that it is invitation only. We are not accepting applications or having a jury decide which groups are good enough to be in the fest. We have invited only troupes that we know are great. We’ve seen each of them in person and consider them to be the finest of the festival circuit. This is, quite simply, the cream of the national crop.

Inspiration for the festival comes from four trips The 3rd Floor sketch comedy troupe has taken to Chicago for The Chicago Sketchfest, the largest sketch comedy festival in the country (100 troupes performed). For the past five years, The 3rd Floor has received enthusiastic attention from the local press and The Second City (The Mt. Olympus of sketch comedy). Portland’s Hoskins & Breen (featuring T3F alumni, Loren Hoskins) also received similar attention. Interest in Portland stage comedy is at an apex. There is also a legion of comedy troupes popping up in the NW.

Hoping to turn the spotlight towards Portland, further establishing the Portland theater scene as a national comedic hot-spot, we held the first annual Best Of The Best Sketch Fest in July of 2003. It was a spectacular success, drawing in over 1000 audience members over the one-weekend event. In 2004, our success grew beyond our wildest dreams, selling more than 1400 tickets in two days. The 2004 Fest included 9 troupes, 7 sold out shows, 5 standing ovations and even an encore. 2005 brought yet another incredible weekend of comedy. 2006 & 2007 were our most successful yet.