LEWISTON — Maine Event Comedy is presenting The Tightest Five comedy contest starting at 7 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 21, at Bear Bones Beer, 43 Lisbon St.

Any stand-up comedian will tell you they have a tight five minutes, but who has the tightest five? Twenty of New England’s rising comedy stars will give it their best shot.

In the first preliminary round, Mark Turcotte will host 10 hopefuls as they perform their best five minutes of original material. Along with bragging rights, the winner’s prize package includes paid work, professional headshots and craft beer.

The prelim will include AJ O’Connell, East Greenwich, Rhode Island; Ben Roberts, Leeds; Brendan Williams, Portland; Cindi Brown, Portland; Daniel McRobbie, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Dawn Hartill, Lewiston; Jed Bloom, Saco; Jeff Madoff, Boston; Jim Martin, Portland; and Nikki Martin, Portland.

New Hampshire’s Ian Clark will be the evening’s featured comedian. Clark was voted New Hampshire’s Best New Comic in 2015 and has performed at Improv Boston, The Comedy Studio, and Dick Doherty’s Comedy Den.

The second preliminary round will be Thursday, Jan. 18, followed by the semifinals on Feb. 15 and the finals on March 15.

An open-mic, available to jokesmiths of all levels, will follow the show.

The event is free and for ages 21 and older. FMI: 207-513-0742; e-mail [email protected].

Ian Clark