Bill Cosby’s trip to Kitchener resulted in a lot of laughs for a mid-sized crowd at Centre in the Square, a small protest outside the venue, and a packed nightclub for an event supporting victims of sexual assault.

The theatre was well below capacity Wednesday night as Cosby took the stage to boisterous applause, joking about the frigid weather before beginning to talk about life past age 50.

His act lasted for about two hours, and was raucously received by the crowd.

Outside the venue, about 15 to 20 protesters heckled attendees. Some carried signs with messages like “I support the victims” and “Rape is not a joke.”

Wednesday marked Cosby’s first public appearance since last November, when he performed in Florida and the Bahamas.

In recent months, the 77-year-old has been dogged by sexual assault allegations.

Three women held a press conference Wednesday afternoon to add their names to the more than two dozen others accusing the comedian of sexual misconduct.

While some of the protesters at Centre in the Square were told to leave the venue's property, no physical altercations took place.

Across Kitchener’s downtown, a smaller crowd enjoyed the Voices Carry event in support of Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region and the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region.

That event, held at the nightclub Dallas, featured local musicians – all of whom donated their time to the cause – as well as locally donated food and beverages.

Organizer Shirley Lichti said the group behind Voices Carry had considered a protest at Centre in the Square, but preferred to do something that could make a direct impact on victims of sexual assault.

“We wanted to do something concrete,” she said.

Anyone walking into Voices Carry with a ticket for the Cosby performance was allowed in for free.

That’s the situation Krista Jonker was in, after buying six tickets as a Christmas gift.

“We really felt that our six empty seats would hopefully be accompanied by numerous other empty seats, and hopefully that would send a message to Mr. Cosby,” she said.

Approximately 300 tickets had been sold for the event, organizers said.

National and international media were also in Kitchener to cover the Cosby show and surrounding events, including a crew from NBC News.

"There are at least 16 shows on his tour that have been cancelled at this point," NBC correspondent Kate Snow told CTV News.

"It’s interesting to us that these three shows in Ontario are going on."

The show also made headlines on the websites of CNN, USA Today and other international media outlets.

After leaving Kitchener, Cosby has shows scheduled for Thursday in London and Friday in Hamilton.