As we inch our way toward the glory of summer comedy festivals, Denver has already begun heating up with a variety of shows featuring whip-smart young comics and world-wise icons of days past. We've got a DIY music and comedy festival (with a bouncy castle!), two feature players from Chelsea Lately, some foody-humor at Deer Pile, and some Missed Connection weirdness at Voodoo Comedy Playhouse. Click ahead to see what spring has in store for the Denver comedy fans emerging from a six-month hibernation of Kids in the Hall DVD's and classic Nintendo games.

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10. Jo Koy With a razor-sharp stage presence combined with a unique approach to dark storytelling, Jo Koy has been a refreshing presence on the comedy circuit over the last decade. While there's no shortage of autobiographical comics talking about white guilt, black poverty or British disdain for royalty, Koy has a wonderful collection of material on his Filipino roots, a part of the world most comedy audiences aren't intimately familiar with. And -- as witnessed in his appearances on Leno and Chelsea Lately -- Koy is the perfect storyteller to interpret that world for a U.S. audience.

Comedy Works South, April 25-27. Tickets are $30. Comedy Works South is located at 5345 Landmark Place.

9. Festibowl Three days of live music, comedy, podcasting and a bouncy castle? I'm in. Straight from the Mouth House to your ears, this annual event has been gaining real momentum as the pre-summer community bacchanal, bringing some of the best local talent in music and comedy to a charming, DIY space. And did we mention there's a bouncy castle? This triple-threat show also sandwiches itself around another annual event of giggly-goodness, so after you've done your part to create that THC mushroom cloud in Civic Center Park, swing down to Mouth House for some comedy by Fine Gentleman's Club, a live taping of The Weird Paradise podcast, and three stages with twenty bands that include Varlet and The Tah Tahs.

The Mouth House, April 19-21. $5 suggested donation. The Mouth House is located at 2858 California Street.

8. Natasha Leggero Sharp-witted, stylish and relentlessly cruel, Natasha Leggero is another recognizable face of celebrity sniping on Chelsea Lately, as well as the 2010 season of Last Comic Standing. She may look sweet, but this observational comic will leave you gasping with disbelief at her one-toe-over-the-line shock rocking.

Comedy Works, April 11 and 12. Tickets are $16-25. Comedy Works is located at 1226 15th Street.

Continue reading for our top picks.