New comedy club aims to fill a void

By Elena Boryczka

The Times, Nov 15, 2007, Updated Oct 30, 2009

Cowboy Bill Martin had the crowds roaring with laughter during his routine at the Jester Comedy Club at the Kingstad Center this weekend.

JOHN LARIVIERE / For The Times

Comedians Cowboy Bill Martin and Kermit Holiday helped Beaverton ring with laughter during this weekend’s opening of the Jester Comedy Club.

“Hilarious,” said Josh McNeill after the 8 p.m. show at the Kingstad Center on Friday. “Everybody was laughing. It was hilarious.”

This was not the first comedy show McNeill had been to, having checked out Harvey’s Comedy Club in downtown Portland, but he said it is nice to have a place closer to his Beaverton home that serves up a similar type of entertainment. He also said the audience had a bit of a different feel to it than the one at Harvey’s, with somewhat of an older age group.

“It’s a different setting, but it’s good,” he said.

Eric Kingstad, who has owned the Kingstad Center for about five years, began the vision for what he calls a “more upscale” entertainment environment four months ago. He said he and his wife were searching for an evening activity that would keep them in the area but soon realized most large entertainment options are in downtown Portland. With weekend events at the center somewhat inconsistent — which typically offers meeting spaces for corporate events, wedding receptions, birthday parties, etc. — he decided to try to fill the void he thinks has been felt for a while.

“There’s kind of a realization that there’s not a lot of live entertainment . . . in Washington County,” he said, adding the center has also begun to feature art displays and host sporadic music and theater performances. “[People] are looking for more options here, more types of entertainment. People are hungry for that. We think people will embrace that and support the effort.”

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