A guy walks into a bar. Bad joke – but a good start to a comedy festival.

This weekend, hundreds of people walked into bars and clubs across the city for the first-ever Birmingham Comedy Festival.

The four-day event, which ends tonight, has featured up-and-coming comics from across Alabama and the South performing alongside established national talents.

The most important showcase might have been the city of Birmingham itself, which is looking to prove it can support local comedy.

“I feel like it’s going better than any expectation I’ve had,” said festival organizer Chris Ivey. “The support from the city and the venues has been amazing.”

It’s “something the city has needed for a very long time,” said Wes Van Horn, a Birmingham native who lives and performs in Los Angeles.

The festival offered more than a dozen shows, including an improv jam, at venues ranging from Saturn to the Syndicate Lounge to Buck Mulligan’s. It had something for everyone, from a “roast” of the governor Friday night to the “Take Me to Church” clean comedy show Sunday afternoon.

Scott Gordon performs at Buck Mulligan’s. (John Herr/Alabama NewsCenter)

One comic who performed at both events is Bessemer native Charles Winston III, who was – no joke – recently elected to the position of Jefferson County constable.

“You have to first get your city behind you,” he said. “People don’t know we have a lot of great comics right here in Birmingham that you can see all the time. We need to connect to them and grow their careers and get in on the ground floor.”

“Right now you see the city doing more stuff, giving back more,” said Terry Tee (L.A. Comedy Festival), also from Bessemer. “The Rotary Trail, Railroad Park, you’re seeing more stuff pop out. It’s the same with Birmingham comedy.”

As a destination for laughs, Birmingham is working to shed its reputation as a one-club town. While the recently renovated Stardome in Hoover continues to draw national headliners, it’s been joined by the Syndicate Lounge, the Craic at Buck Mulligan’s, the Rare Martini and Shenanigans in Trussville, among others.

 “To see my city grow from what it was like seven years ago, it does my heart justice,” said Tee.

Wes Van Horn gets laughs at the Syndicate Lounge. (John Herr/Alabama NewsCenter)

“It’s great the camaraderie we have now that’s building and growing,” said Winston.

Several Southern-grown headliners returned to play the festival, including Martin Morrow (Second City Chicago), Tim Northern (Montreal’s Just for Laughs) and Van Horn, who has brought a taste of Birmingham to L.A. with his Yellahammered show.

“It’s an Alabama-themed Southern comedy show where we make a bunch of Southern food that no one eats out there,” said Van Horn, “biscuits and gravy and ribs and pork, and a lot of mayonnaise and butter.”

Martin Morrow kicks it at the Birmingham Comedy Festival. (John Herr/Alabama NewsCenter)

Growing up and living in Alabama – in all its flavors – was frequent fodder for the festival’s funnymen and -women, who poked affectionate fun at the place they love and support.

“It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen in the city,” said Ivey.

The Birmingham Comedy Festival wraps up at the Syndicate Lounge with an 8 p.m. show featuring Shane Mauss (Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan) and an 11 p.m. open mic.