TIMMINS - A well-known local comedian is raising funds and spirits with his latest charity event.
Timmins’ Rick Lemieux is hosting the I Know My Rights comedy show at École secondaire catholique Thériault at 8 p.m. on Jan 25 to support the Cochrane District Crime Stoppers. In the show, he combines his love of stand-up comedy with his passion for the Timmins community.
“The secret to the people who are happy are the ones that help other people,” he said.
Lemieux has a long history of helping out, even going back to volunteering to work security in Sudbury while studying to be a police officer.
“I volunteered at every Sudbury Wolves game, and I did it at first because I wanted the experience,” he said. “It was a lot of fun, and I got to do security for Def Leppard, Shania Twain, and Celine Dion. I really enjoyed that.”
He served with the Timmins Police Service for 20 years, where he found value in being part of the community and taking care of the people around him.
“As a job, I was involved in the community, but then when I was out of that, I just continued,” he said. “It was an amazing experience with Timmins Police in community service, being involved in community service, being involved in all these organizations, and then I wanted to continue helping out.”
Volunteering is a family affair for Lemieux, who has worked with his sister and brother-in-law at the Northern Ontario Expo events, helping out as Deadpool and Batman over the years. He has also helped at tree lightings and other holiday events.
“If you do have the time, going out and being a part of the community … way is not only going to help that organization, but it’ll help you as well,” he said. “Because I was the community officer and I was at all these events, people knew who I was, and it puts a friendly face to policing.”
Fundraising for Crime Stoppers felt right for Lemieux, given the topics he covers in his show.
“It was just kind of a perfect fit because the show is a lot about policing and Crime Stoppers is a great fit for what I’m doing and my job before,” he said.
The show will be on Prime Direct at a later date.
He’s also including local talent in the show. Richard Steudle, Sumat Swami, Ben Nash and Courtney Racicot are doing 15-minute sets.
“They get to perform monthly at the Moneta, but this will be a full theatre show,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity for our local comics to go and perform for a local crowd.”
He said he started his stand-up career before he became a police officer, and things have taken off since his retirement.
“I’ve been able to get better and better with it,” he said. “I get to do comedy all over, and it’s been so much fun.”
He’s also been able to take his family with him on his travels.
Lemieux’s experience has left him with tons of stories and material to work with, and he’s looking forward to the hometown crowd.
“There’s not too many comedians who took the long run to get their material by working 20 years as a police officer,” he said.
Tickets for the show on Saturday, Jan. 25 at 8 p.m. are available online.
