Cancer fundraiser planned Saturday has strong Poway ties

By Steve Dreyer

There will be a decidedly Poway feel to a cancer fundraiser planned for Saturday afternoon and evening at a San Diego brewery.

A “Laughter For a Cure” comedy show at the Benchmark Brewing Company, 6190 Fairmont Ave., will be headlined by former Poway resident Steven Briggs. The event is being put on by 20-year Poway resident Riley Bacon, a former local morning radio show host who went by the name “Chris P. Bacon.”

Briggs has headlined in Las Vegas and Los Angeles and recently returned from a Texas tour, Bacon said. Six other comics, including Bacon, will perform as well. The comedy sets will start at 5 p.m.

“This fundraiser was inspired by friends and family who have been affected by cancer, which in this case is just about everyone involved in the event,” Bacon said Monday. He said Briggs’s father is gravely ill and that he personally lost his grandfather and 18-year-old cousin to cancer. The fundraiser’s host, Tommy Lucero, has his mother fighting cancer.

Bacon, a 2006 Poway High graduate and former wrestling team member, said he hopes to raise $1,000 at the event. It will run from 3 to 9 p.m. Food will be provided by Tiny’s Tacos and there will be games and drawings. Benchmark Brewing will donate $2 for every growler sold.

Pre-event tickets — available at

www.laughterforacure.brownpapertickets.com

— are $15 and $25. The prices will go up $5 at the door. Only 70 tickets were available as of Monday. You must be at least 18 years old to attend and over 21 to purchase alcohol.