By Jim Knippenberg
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Going out

Cocktail party: Lighthouse Youth Crisis Center is throwing a cocktail party fund-raiser to scare up money to buy Christmas gifts for young people in its care - runaways, abused and neglected youth needing shelter or treatment. Besides drinks and a chance to meet a whole bunch of new people, you also get magical entertainment from Ryan Swigert. 6 p.m. today, Club Clau, 221 E. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine, $15. 981-7081.

Christmas party: BarrelHouse Brewing Co. celebrates the season with music from a batch of Cincinnati favorites. Check out this lineup: Wojo, Saving Ray, Hogan & Skid, Kohai and Dos Locos. Plus good beers brewed on site. 8 p.m. today, BarrelHouse Brewing Co., 22 E. 12th St., Over-the-Rhine. 421-2337.

Twang fest: Bluegrass lovers - and players - gather at the Brew House for the weekly Bluegrass Jam, attracting some of the area's top pickers. 8 p.m. today, the Brew House, 1047 E. McMillan St., Walnut Hills, free. 961-9058.

New on CD

Critic's picks: . Just three this week:

• Bravehearts hip-hop their way through Bravehearted (Sony; $18.98).

• Juvenile follows 400 Degreez and Tha G-Code with Juve the Great (Universal; $12.95).

• David Banner steps up to the mike with Baptized in Dirty Water (Universal; $12.95).

New on DVD/Video

Critic's picks: Foreign films dominate the best home-video releases this week, with the long-awaited DVD arrival of 1997's Underground, the sprawling historical epic - and top prize winner at the Cannes Film Festival - from Serbian filmmaker Emir Kusturica. Also new today is L'auberge Espagnole, a quirky tale of young Europeans sharing an apartment and life experiences in Barcelona.

Hot tickets

Film fest: Tickets are on sale for Cincinnati World Cinema's weeklong film festival Jan. 28 through Feb. 3 at Greaves Concert Hall, Northern Kentucky University. Movies and shorts will be shown nightly at 7:30 p.m. with extra afternoon shows Saturday and Sunday. Titles will be announced; tickets - $40 for the whole series, $100 to sponsor - are available through www.cincyworldcinema.com (you have to register to get on the site). (859) 781-8151.

Planning ahead

24 hours out: Rick and Hillary Wagner haul out a ton of instruments for a Celtic holiday concert of traditional and seasonal music. 4 p.m. Wednesday, Books & Co., 350 E. Stroop Road, Kettering, free. (937) 298-6540.

72 hours out: Sweet Alice Hoskins, Cincinnati's favorite blues diva, belts out a tune or 20 for the post-Christmas party set. 9:30 p.m. Friday, Havana Martini Club, 580 Walnut St., downtown, $7. (513) 651-2800.

Virtual cookies

Food search: Looking for a long-lost cookie recipe, or want to share your best holiday sweets? Swap and request cookie recipes on our Virtual Cookie Exchange at www.enquirer.com (Keyword: Cookie). The exchange will stay up through Christmas Eve.

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E-mail jknippenberg@enquirer.com