Christmas Cookies at the Library: Your Thursday

Outside of old St. Nick himself, what provides more sheer holiday happiness than a good homemade Christmas cookie?

The South Side Branch of the Bethlehem Area Public Library, 400 Webster St., hosts a holiday cookie exchange at 6:30 p.m. today. Adult bakers should bring two or three dozen homemade cookies to share.

Enjoy a cookie decorating demonstration and a Best Cookie Contest with prizes. Registration and a library card are required.

• Christkindlmarkt opens today to start the third weekend of its five-weekend holiday run. The market’s hours today are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Walkup tickets are $9 for adults and $5 for children.

• Godfrey Daniels hosts a poetry slam featuring young artists from the Lehigh Valley Charter School for the Performing Arts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10.50 and $5.50 for students.

• Standup comic Mike Lawrence visits the Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas at 8 p.m. for a Two Laugh Minimum performance at SteelStacks. Lawrence has been seen on Conan O’Brien, John Oliver’s New York Standup Show and on his own half-hour special on Comedy Central. Tickets are $10, less for students, seniors and ArtsQuest members.

• Tonight is opening night for Christmas City Follies XIV. Read more about this year’s annual vaudeville holiday extravaganza devoted to all things Bethlehem—as well as other weekend happenings in the Christmas City.