An Evening of Comedy presented by the National Comedy Center will feature a finalist from NBC’s ”Last Comic Standing.”

Rocky LaPorte will be performing on Valentine’s Day at the Willow Bay Theater, located at 21 E. Third St. LaPorte may be best known as a finalist on NBC’s ”Last Comic Standing” in 2014. The stand-up comedy veteran has been performing for more than 25 years. He has also appeared in his own ”Comedy Central Presents” special, performed on the ”Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and has appeared in two Tim Allen movie comedies.

LaPorte has opened for the likes of Allen, Garry Shandling, Drew Carey, Louie Anderson, Hootie and the Blowfish and the Righteous Brothers. His clean, blue-collar style of comedy continues to increase in popularity as he travels the country. LaPorte said he has a very special Valentine’s Day gift in store for the audience.

”I’m going to kiss everyone in the audience on the mouth,” LaPorte joked about performing on Valentine’s Day, which is also his birthday. ”It is my birthday, too. So every year on my birthday, I have to buy someone else crap. It’s like having your birthday on Christmas.”

LaPorte said he is eagerly anticipating working in Jamestown, the hometown of Lucille Ball. The comedian wanted to know if the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy was open on Sunday because he wants to visit the local attraction. The center is open Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

”I told my kids (about performing in Lucy’s hometown). Everyone loves Lucy. Everyone is telling me to take pictures and go to the museum,” he said. ”This is like a huge feather in my cap. I’m so honored to be doing this.”

Along with Ball, LaPorte said other comedians who influenced him include George Carlin, Rodney Dangerfield and Richard Pryor.

”Those character-types of guys is what I like, especially guys like Rodney (Dangerfield) and Jackie Gleason,” he said. ”I’ve gotten to meet George Carlin, Rodney and Louie Anderson. I never got to meet Johnny Carson, that would have been nice. I did meet Jay Leno and he was a nice guy, you know.”

LaPorte’s performance on the ”Tonight Show with Jay Leno” in 2004 led him to a couple of acting gigs in two movies featuring comedian Allen – ”The Shaggy Dog” and ”Crazy on the Outside.”

”When I did the ‘Tonight Show’ and got a standing ovation, I guess Tim (Allen) was home watching and said, ‘This guy is pretty funny.’ So he invited me to do a charity event with him and he gave me a couple parts in his movies without having to audition. We kind of became buddies. It was nice of him,” LaPorte said.

LaPorte said he knew he wanted to be a stand-up comedian as early as elementary school. He said as a youngster he would often get into trouble and sent to the hall so he could no longer disrupt class. Instead of sulking while being alone in the hall, he would work on his act as class clown.

”I would get sent to the hall and in that time I would think of more stupid stuff to do,” he said. ”I was a goof. It was so funny to me that the teacher would keep sending me out to the hall. It was like giving me more ammo.”

LaPorte’s career has led him to being able to participate in several unique experiences. One of those experiences was performing for the troops twice in Iraq. Rocky traveled with comedian Drew Carey to Iraq to entertain the troops and was seen on the Showtime special ”Patriot Act: A Jeffrey Ross Home Movie.”

”Drew (Carey) asked me if I wanted to go. I said, ‘When are we going.’ He said, ‘Two weeks.’ I said, ‘How am I going to learn how to speak Iraqi in two weeks,” LaPorte joked.

LaPorte said his experience in Iraq was a little scary. He said one time he was staying in a building that got hit by a mortar round.

”We left the building at like 10 (minutes) to 6 and the building was hit at 6. Ten minutes after we left. That was crazy,” he said.

Even with the near-death experience, LaPorte said he was honored to be able to perform for American troops in the Middle East.

”The troops over there were looking at us, thanking us for bringing a part of home to them,” he said. ”They were acting like we were doing the work. They were thanking us, but we were there to thank them.”

As a finalist on ”Last Comic Standing,” LaPorte said it was a good experience, but he didn’t enjoy the competitive nature of the show.

”Iraq was more fun,” LaPorte joked about his ”Last Comic Standing” experience. ”It was a grind and it was really competitive having to have someone voted off and that wasn’t fun. I wanted to just entertain. As a top five finalist we went on a three month tour on a bus with a broken toilet. It was a tough experience, but it helped. They tested your mettle for sure.”

Tickets to the Evening of Comedy, starting at 7 p.m., are $17.50, and $37.50 with dinner option at the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum’s Tropicana Room, starting at 5:30 p.m. The Tropicana Room, located at 2 W. Third St., is a recreation of Ricky Ricardo’s famous Manhattan night club. Beer and wine will be served via a cash donation and a cocktail hour will be offered to all ticket buyers. Additionally, all visitors will be able to participate in a photo opportunity on an ”I Love Lucy” studio set. Comedian Steven Rodgers, a Western New York native, will open for LaPorte. Tickets are available by visiting lucycomedyfest.com or calling the Lucy Desi Museum at 484-0800.

The Lucy Desi Museum is open seven days a week. The museum features replica sets, Lucille Ball’s Emmy awards, props, costumes and rare memorabilia from ”I Love Lucy.” For additional information on museum attraction, visit lucy-desi.com. For more information on LaPorte, visit rockylaporte.com.