Ontario comedy festival headlined by John Mulaney postponed at last minute

It looks like the Toronto-area "John Mulaney curse" lives on, as the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival, headlined by the popular comedian, has postponed its Mississauga dates just a few days ahead of the first show.

The Great Outdoors Comedy Festival (GOCF) announced on Tuesday afternoon that the shows planned for Sept. 11-13 at Erindale Park have been postponed, but organizers did not provide a specific reason for the abrupt change.

"We are sorry to share that the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival in Mississauga will not be happening this weekend as planned," reads a statement from event organizers. 
 
"After careful consideration, the GOCF team has made the difficult decision to postpone our show scheduled for September 11th-13th, 2026. We know there was a lot of excitement around the show, but our priority is to deliver the best possible festival, and we believe that postponing this week's performance is the right decision to ensure we can do that."

Organizers add that they are exploring new dates and will provide updates to purchasers.

Mulaney was to perform on the festival's opening night, Friday, Sept. 11, with opening acts Stavros Halkias and James Austin Johnson.

Other headliners at the now-postponed comedy festival included Adam Ray as Dr. Phil, Jeff Arcuri, Matt Matthews, Jordan Jensen, Hasan Minhaj, and Ronny Chieng, along with supporting acts Ms. Pat, T.J. Miller, Brad Williams, Grace O'Malley, Katherine Blanford, and Michael Kosta.

The schedule change is just the latest in a history of postponements and cancellations for John Mulaney in the Greater Toronto Area. Mulaney famously cancelled three consecutive Toronto shows and apologized to the city by wearing a "Toronto" shirt on Saturday Night Live in 2020, only to snub local fans again the following year.

It was eventually revealed that the comedian had checked into a treatment facility in December 2020, where he remained for 60 days battling addiction to alcohol, cocaine, and prescription drugs.

Even after successfully emerging from treatment, fans were understandably skeptical when the comedian booked new dates in Toronto in 2022. Despite those concerns, Mulaney did indeed appear at his Sept. 22, 2022 show at Scotiabank Arena for Just For Laughs Toronto, and returned for a multi-show stint at Massey Hall on Sept. 2-5, 2025 on his Mister Whatever tour.