Chantal
Desjardins is enjoying life as
a stand up comic. The gal with the movie star looks had a good career going for
her on local radio, with gigs on Virgin Radio, CHOM and latterly on CJAD where
she did sports and showed real on air karma
with drive home show host Aaron
Rand. When Bell Media purchased Virgin, CHOM and CJAD, essentially merging
TSN 690 with the latter, Desjardins was one of the casualties.
Desjardins, 31, can still be seen on
occasionally on CTV, but what began as a bit of an extra curricular activity is
developing into something more. She will be onstage at Club Soda on St. Laurent
Blvd. Wednesday evening, May 7 for the MediaExperts’ Evening of Comedy with Joey Elias and Friends. The third annual
edition is once again being held in support of On Our Own, the Montreal‐based organization providing critical support services and
affordable transitional housing for young parents wishing to develop the skills
they need to live independently in the community.
“I got my start in standup comedy a couple of
years ago when I took Joey Elias’ course,” Desjardins was telling me last week.
“We had a friends and family night and when it was over three offered me events
to perform at. I did not really pursue it at the time, but when I was laid off
from CJAD last fall I had the time. Since then I have done 16 shows. It’s been
lots of fun.”
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| Chantal Desjardins |
Besides Desjardins, Elias has invited David Pryde, Jeff Shouela
and Chris Venditto to be part of
the Media Experts’ event. “I had
everybody calling me to be a part of this show this year,” Elias say. “Everyone
last year had such a great time, the
word really got around and this event has become a regular fixture on the
Montreal Comedy calendar. The cause is
truly a deserving one, Club Soda is a great room and I hope we raise even more
than we did last year.”
Independent media services agency Media Experts
has partnered with On Our Own and Canadian charitable organization, GIVGroups,
permitting the public to secure their entry to the show by making a tax‐ deductible donation online. Created to help boost charitable
giving in Canada, GIVGroups is a website where Canadians, companies, foundations
and charities come together to support charitable causes. GIVGroups hosts
matching giftchallenges helping to multiply the good deeds of corporate
sponsors with the matching donations of Canadians to increase the value of
those donations.
“Crowd funding is an exciting new trend in
charitable giving in Canada,” said Woodrow Rosenbaum, Executive Director of GIV3. “We are very pleased to see
Media Experts and O3 taking advantage of our free platform to raise money and
engage donors.”
On the GIVGroups website,
http://www.givgroups.ca/campaign/63 people simply select the On Our Own ‐ Media Experts
GIVGroup and make their tax‐deductible donation. The public have only to
present the printed receipt of their
minimum donation of $40 to be admitted to
the comedy benefit on May 7 at Club Soda.
A native of Winnipeg, she came here to be with her then significant
other a number of years ago. Following
an amicable split, she found herself single for the first time since the age of
17. The divorce and dating has become part of her routine. “I don’t doubt that
at some point I will get back to radio,” she said. “I have a broadcasting agent
trying to lure me to Toronto, but I’d like to stay here.”
Desjardins says she was really enjoying her
time alongside Rand. But when the TSN
690 deal came through the writing was on the wall. “I was not insulted,” she
said. “Chris Bury is a good friend of
mine. This is reality. They already had
sportscasters right across the hall. It was a logical business decision.”
Could Desjardins end up at Rogers
Sportsnet/City Montreal, where there is currently a vacancy for a local
correspondent? One would think that both she and Jess Russnak of TSN 690 would
be good candidates to succeed Aly Lozoff, who was doing a fabulous job yet did
not have her contract renewed.
There is also an opening on weekends at Virgin Radio, with Nikki Balch off to Ottawa. Desjardins would be a great fit there as well.
There is also an opening on weekends at Virgin Radio, with Nikki Balch off to Ottawa. Desjardins would be a great fit there as well.
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