Local comedians are gathering money to help bury one of their own – Louis “Big Lue” Avent, who performed often at Harvard Square’s Comedy Studio before succumbing Saturday to a long, recurring battle with a heart condition – and thinking about a fund for the future.

Ten local comedians compete in a Comedy Central talent search Friday at Johnny D’s in Davis Square, with one possibly going on to be called the best up and coming comic nationwide, winning a digital record release, live performances and an appearance on a stand-up series.

The fifth Boston Comedy Arts Festival is scheduled to run Sept. 3-8 with Kevin McDonald, Cambridge’s own Jimmy Tingle and performances from The Cambridge Footlights, the 129-year-old institution from that other Cambridge – the one that’s given the comedy world John Cleese and Sacha Baron Cohen.

The latest in comedy imports arrives Monday in Davis Square: Competitive Erotic Fan Fiction.

Harvard Square’s Comedy Studio is taking a summer road trip to Devens, the former army base in Central Massachusetts that will be the site of an Aug. 10 arts festival called The Nines.

ImprovBoston, the Central Square comedy club and school, is losing its managing director Zach Ward full time July 1, according to a letter posted Tuesday to the club’s extended community.

The Sinclair hosts the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival the last weekend in June in three chunks, including a Sunday vaudeville-style night led by musician and author John Wesley Harding that combines music, literature and, of course, comedy.

With a lockdown in place for much of Friday while police hunted a Boston Marathon bombing suspect, ImprovBoston was forced to cancel its offer of six free comedy shows. It’s trying again with free admission for first responders through May and a free Friday performance of its National Touring Co.

ImprovBoston is offering free admission to its six Friday shows to provide some healing laughs and collect donations for victims of the violence Monday at the Boston Marathon.

There are fewer laughs at ImprovBoston this year, and leaders at the Central Square comedy club vow a change in culture to repair the damage. It’s just not clear how big a change a new policy will be.