Michael Moore, comedian Jeff Garlin organizing comedy festival in northern Michigan town

Michael Moore plans Traverse City comedy festival

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Oscar winner Michael Moore has more big plans for his adopted northern Michigan hometown of Traverse City, where he’s already established a film festival.

Moore said Saturday that he and comedian Jeff Garlin, a star and executive producer of the HBO series “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” will organize the Traverse City Comedy Arts Festival. It will run over a weekend and feature movies, stand-up and sketch comedy and other entertainment. A date has not been chosen yet for next year’s kickoff event.

“We’ve actually talked to some great people — I don’t want to mention any names right now — who are going to come to Traverse City for this first comedy festival,” said Moore, a filmmaker, author and Michigan native. “I think you’ll be very pleased.”

He and Garlin revealed their plans during a standing-room-only panel discussion at the fifth annual Traverse City Film Festival, which ends Sunday. A formal announcement with more details will be made soon, Moore said.

Moore, who won an Oscar for his 2002 documentary “Bowling for Columbine,” said that if the comedy festival goes well, he’ll look into starting a local book festival in fall 2010.