On May 9th, 2026 the Mary Webb Centre for the Arts in Highgate had Steve Patterson who brought two of his fellow comedians, Vancouver’s Erica Sigurdson and Toronto’s Dave Hemstad for Mary’s Annual Mother’s Day Comedy Extravaganza.
Steve opened the show by telling us he came to Highgate on a used Doug Ford jet. He told them a bit about the other two comedians who would be on stage to keep them all laughing. He involved Peter Garapick’s wife and kids without knowing that’s who they were. He also joked about changing one word in the Canadian National Anthem and then sang his very funny version of O Canada.
Erica flew in from Vancouver, arriving that morning. She told a very amusing story about having company visiting them in Vancouver who she thought were sleeping in their cabin in the yard. She woke in the morning to make coffee and walked into the kitchen naked only to discover the husband in their living room with a full view. Quite embarrassing. She also asked who in the audience slept in separate bedrooms. There were several very good reasons why they did. She is no longer drinking and her friends tend to judge her and make fun of her. Because she was bored, especially during COVD 19, she learned how to sew using a sewing coach off You Tube and now has an awful lot of bags for carrying your stuff, some of which she brought with her that were for sale at intermission and at the end of the show. Erica is a very funny lady and it is hard to catch it all here.
After intermission, Steve P came back on stage and told a few more stories and made fun of another lady in the audience. He then sang his own version, with his very good singing voice, of the American National Anthem.
Dave Hemstad told how at his age and present physique, it is getting harder to put on his socks. When he asked, there were certainly many in the audience who had the same problem. He told of the difficulty flying here with the lad next to him who was large and He misses his friends. He goes to play golf and his wife expects him to be home in about 4 hours, since that’s what an 18-hole round of golf should take. When he comes home after 9 hours, it’s hard to explain so she’ll understand. He also is on the road a lot with his comedy, which makes it hard. He also had a very good tale about unloading the dryer. Sounded very familiar. He ended by telling about the spoon way of sleeping and how it changes as couples age.
Steve ended the concert by bringing the two ladies from the audience up on to the stage, He was surprised to learn that one was a high school principal and the other a teacher. He had fun with them.
It was an excellent concert, unfortunately not attended by as many as were expected. Steve is on CBC radio regularly with his show The Debaters, and both Erica and Dave are regular guests. It is hard to describe how funny these three were, but listening to The Debaters will certainly give you a good idea.
“If it’s at the Mary Webb, you know it’s going to be great!”
