Building off the rousing success of last year's inaugural event, the University of Lethbridge is excited to announce Rick Mercer as the featured speaker for the second annual Calgary Alumni & Friends Dinner, to be held Sunday, Apr. 3 at the Calgary Westin.

Mike Babcock, head coach of the Detroit Red Wings and Canada's Olympic men's hockey team, was featured last year as U of L alumni filled the building and enjoyed a fantastic evening of food and fellowship. Mercer, known as Canada's "unofficial opposition" is the nation's most popular comic, a political satirist who knows exactly what matters to regular Canadians and what makes them laugh.

Comic Rick Mercer is the headliner for the second annual Calgary & Friends Alumni Dinner on Apr. 3.

Tickets for the dinner went on sale Feb. 7, but alumni have an opportunity to win a pair of tickets to the event, simply by getting in touch with the U of L's Alumni Services office. There are more than 32,000 University of Lethbridge alumni living and working in communities across southern Alberta and beyond. We want to hear from you.

Alums are encouraged to e-mail Alumni Services with an update on what they've been up to since graduating from the U of L. Tell us your stories and not only will you be entered in a draw for two tickets to the Alumni dinner (valued at $250, accommodations and travel are not included), your story may be featured on the ThisIsMyU website.

The entry deadline for this contest is Mar. 11, 2011. If you'd like to purchase tickets, click on this link.

It promises to be an amazing evening with wonderful food, the comedy of Mercer and an opportunity to reconnect with your fellow University of Lethbridge alums.

Mercer's top-rated, award-winning CBC show, The Rick Mercer Report, features his trademark rants, hilarious (and informative) fake newscasts, commercial parodies and comic encounters with famous Canadians, talking about Canada. More than any other comedian (or journalist for that matter), he talks to Canadian newsmakers with a refreshing candor, and is uniquely able to spin topical hilarity from the people and the things deeply embedded in the national consciousness.