“You can tell how old a tree is by how many rings it has. You can tell how old a man is by how high his waistline is.”

–Kenn Kington

That’s just a sample of the fun to be had at the Standup Guys concert May 18 at Real Life Church. Habitat for Heroes invites Santa Clarita to come together in support of local veterans and join them for a night of clean, family fun.

Robert G. Lee, Bob Smiley and Kenn Kington are the Standup Guys, a nationally recognized comedy team, whose members come from a variety of venues and experiences and who promise a night of side-splitting entertainment.

Lee is known as a top warm-up comic in Hollywood, performing for the audiences at shows such as the Drew Carey Show, in between set and costume changes. Lee has also produced some of his own videos and written scripts for the popular Christian children’s show VeggieTales.

According to Smiley’s website, “Many moons ago—before the invention of Ritalin or the Internet—a young, broke college student named Roberto Antonio Smiley signed up for a stand-up competition at his Student Union Building… When he arrived, his only competition was a grown man wearing an oversized sombrero with no act… so…he won the money and the tender hearts of his fellow students. The rest is history.”

Since then, Smiley has performed as an MC for bands Mercy Me, Third Day and Newsboys. He also enjoys performing for church youth groups across the country, and says that “he absolutely loves his job.”

Performing in the spirit of Steve Martin and Bill Cosby, Kington hails from Atlanta, Ga. Having performed on Central Comedy and XM radio, he offers “Great comedy on the edge BUT no side effects (No blushing, No cringing, No embarrassing situations or language),” according to his website.

Habitat for Heroes hopes that the fundraiser will be “something that the whole community could be part of, something that the veterans could come to and see how much of the community supports them, [to] really sell out the hall and see everybody, 1,000 people, at Real Life just showing their support and their love for the community’s veterans,” said SCV/SFV Habitat CEO Donna Deutchman.

Proceeds from the fundraiser will be used to refurbish the American Legion Hall Post 507 in Newhall. Deutchman said that the money will enable them to provide the facility with new flooring, handicap accessible bathrooms, updated electrical, kitchen appliances and a new banquet room, allowing them to better rent the building for events and give “the service people who return home in the Santa Clarita area… a place to go.”

KHTS AM1220 and Providence Health & Services of Southern California are sponsors of the event, along with Southern California Gas Company, the Home Depot Foundation, B+ Productions, Green Convergence, Feathers Digital Graphics, Burger King, The Sanctuary and The Church on the Way.

The Standup Guys concert will take place May 18, from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. at Real Life Church, 23841 Newhall Ranch Road in Valencia. Tickets are $15 before May 15, $17.50 after May 15 and a limited number of VIP tickets are available for $20 each.

For more information, visit habitatscv.org/events or call (818)884-8808.