Germany Laughs at Cologne Film Festival

Germany may not be known for its raucous comedy (though Wagner never fails to crack us up), but the Cologne Comedy Festival has been proving that stereotype wrong for nearly 20 years. Every year since 1991, some of the best stand-up comedians from all across Europe gather for more than two weeks to show off their skills—and, in many cases, launch international careers.

And if watching comedians live on stage really isn't your style, there are other events and activities to try. For the past two years, the Comedy Festival has run in conjunction with the Cologne Comedy Film Festival, one of the few film festivals in the world dedicated to making audiences laugh.

And on Tuesday, October 20, the festival will celebrate the best comedy throughout Germany with the German Comedy Prizes, spanning numerous categories for TV, film and live performances. (Odds are you haven't laughed this much at an awards show since Bob Hope retired from the Oscars.

This year, the festival will run from October 15 to October 31. Tickets are available at www.koelnticket.de. (Use Google to translate the page if necessary.)