Comedy comes in both local and national flavors to the Lehigh Valley this weekend, as we get the area's most well-known comic at the Blue Monkey on Friday and the Laughter Arts Festival at the State Theatre in Easton on Saturday.

I really really really want you to go to the Laughter Arts Festival, so I'm starting with that. The LAF has been coming to the state for 7 years now, and each time it's been the biggest comedy show the ABE area gets that year. Saturday's show will be no different; A-listers Greg Giraldo, Kathleen Madigan and Christian Finnegan are set to perform; Giraldo is likely the smartest comic out there- he graduated from Harvard Law School!- and his socially aware set will resonate with fans of the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Kathleen Madigan has been on VH1's I Love the 90s and NBC's Last Comic Standing while Christian Finnegan has been seen on Chappelle's Show and VH1's Best Week Ever.

Why do I really really really want you to go to LAF? 'Cuz selling this show out would prove to the powers that be, whoever the $@#! they are, that comedy is in demand in the Lehigh Valley, and that we need a full-fledged, 3 great comics every weekend comedy club. That's all.

For those who can't make LAF or want to get a tune-up for Saturday's big show, check out Raymond the Amish Comic at the Blue Monkey tomorrow night . The "Man in the Black Hat" has been in the comedy biz for 14 years; he is hands down the area's best funnyman. People know it, too, so if you want tix, grab them ASAP by calling the Blue Monkey. Regular Raymond opener and Whitehall native Marc Juretus will kick off the show.

Get out and enjoy the funny this weekend, but remember that the closest places that do this sort of thing every weekend are at least one hour in the car away. This can, and should, change.

-Ryan