Last night, Nariko Ott was crowned Portland's Funniest Person in Helium Comedy Club's annual event, winning the title most recently held by Amy Miller, who last summer became the first woman to win the contest (full disclosure: I judged some rounds of the competition that year). Ott's win isn't exactly a surprise: He's consistently one of the strongest stand-ups in town, and seemed one of the heirs apparent to the crown; plus, Portland's Funniest Person, with its multi-round format, seems almost like an endurance exercise for comedians. Consistency matters a lot. So does being really funny, which Ott is.
If you're like, "Um who TF is Nariko Ott?" I AM SAD FOR YOU. And also, please watch this. It's an older video, but it's a good one:
Just as she did last year, Bri Pruett placed second (even more disclosures: Pruett's also a Mercury contributor, and, not a disclosure, just a fact, an all-around funny, delightful person with a VERY STRONG Instagram game). Adam Pasi came in third. He is hilarious (and also just started a great comedy podcast, go listen to it now!), and it's nice to see him getting a little notoriety.
And of course, feminist killjoy that I am, and given that Portland's Funniest often can be pretty dude-heavy, I was heartened to see some women making it into the finals. Pruett was no surprise—I basically expected her to be in the top three—but it's also great to see other women rising in the ranks: like Caitlin Weierhauser, who's upped her game considerably over the time I've been watching her tell jokes; and Katie Nguyen, who I consider to be one of Portland's most under-appreciated comedic geniuses, and who's one of the rare stand-ups whose material I can see over and over again without getting bored.
Portland's Funniest Person is one of the city's higher-profile comedy events, but it's by no means the only one. There is a metric ton of excellent stand-up in this city, and if you're only paying attention once a year when someone wins a thing, you're doing it wrong. That said, Portland's Funniest can be a good primer on who's out there telling jokes. Find your favorites, then find them elsewhere year-round.
