The delayed 20th anniversary of the comedy festival Sketchfest is delayed yet again, but organizers insist “Hang on to your tickets!” for a future rescheduling.

Last year would have been the 20th annual Sketchfest, the January laugh-in that, in a normal year, gets us out of the house and away from football and whatever new Boba Fett and Baby Yoda series is streaming. But last year's Sketchfest was whittled to a mere one-night livestream, as those were some of the darkest days of COVID-19. The glorious in-person return of Sketchfest was scheduled for January 7-23, 2022, at various venues across town. But, stop me if you’ve heard this one before….

“Due to the rising number of Omicron cases, we’re sorry to announce the postponement of the 2022 Sketchfest,” Sketchfest organizers said in a Thursday announcement. “Bringing people together to laugh and celebrate comedy is what SF Sketchfest does best. Until it is safe to do so, the festival will hit pause on the events planned for next month.”

This is absolutely the right call, and our hearts go out to festival staff. As their announcement notes, “We have also had some artists and staff members test positive for COVID.”

So… what if you already bought tickets to this festival that was supposed to be starting in just eight days? “We are asking all ticket holders to hold on to their tickets while dates are being rescheduled,” the announcement continues. “All ticket holders will be contacted directly in the coming weeks with new dates, details, and options.”

It had been a hell of a lineup, and we’ll see how much of it emerges intact upon rescheduling.  The lineup featured Maria Bamford, David Cross, a celebrity roast of Bruce Campbell, a.k.a. the guy who made sounds with his mouth in the Police Academy movies, and a whole lot more.

We hope all of that is successfully rescheduled, but, more importantly, we hope that the artists and staff are all perfectly safe and healthy come whatever rescheduled Sketchfest may bring.

Related: SF Cancels New Year’s Eve Fireworks Display Amidst Skyrocketing COVID-19 Case Count [SFist]

Image: @SFSketchfest via Twitter