Each Idaho Pun Slam has 10 contestant spots available at a first come, first served basis. Entry starts at 6pm the night of the event. Anyone 18+ can compete. Contestants do not have to pay admission to the event. At present, contestant spots cannot be reserved ahead of time. (Subject to change.)

 

The structure of the pun slam is as follows:

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• Round 1: Arrive at 6pm the night of the Slam to receive your topic. We will provide you with a pen and notepad. You will have an hour to write as many puns as you can on the given topic. You will have 2 minutes on stage to tell as many of your puns as you can. You may read your notes on stage. At the end of your time, audience judges will give you a score of 1-10. 
   

• Round 2: At the beginning of the first intermission, you will receive your second topic. You will have the duration of intermission (about 10 minutes) to write as many puns as you can. You will have 2 minutes on stage. You may read your notes on stage. Audience judges will give you a score of 1-10. 
   

• Round 3: At the end of Round 2, we will add your scores from the first and second rounds. The top 2 puntestants will face off in a head-to-head slam. Both puntestants will come on stage and draw a topic together. They have 30 seconds to think, and 2 minutes to fire puns back and forth. The audience judges vote for who they think did best. The puntestant with the most votes wins.

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NOTE: Once you win an Idaho Pun Slam in the 2023 Season, you may not win a subsequent in the season. You may still perform puns at the Idaho Pun Slam throughout the year. However, we will not collect scores for you and you cannot compete in Round 3. This is to encourage newcomers to join the fray.

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