Original Batman to appear at comic book show

Overland Park  Adam West, above right, who played Batman for the original 1960s television series, will be among the celebrities making appearances at the Planet Comicon Saturday and March 24 at the Overland Park International Trade Center, 115th and Metcalf.

Other celebrities are Michonne Bourriague, who played bounty hunter Aurra Sing in “Star Wars: the Phantom Menace”; astronauts Gerald Carr and Edward Gibson, who were on Skylab 3; and comic creators Steve Rude, Bill Morrison, Frank Cho, Jim Valentino, Phil Hester, Ande Parks and William Stout.

Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 24. Admission is $12 for adults and $5 for children ages 7-14.

KC restaurant offering Oscar show dinner party

Kansas City, Mo. Â You don’t have to go to Hollywood to take part in an Oscar celebration. Hannah Bistro Cafe, 3895 State Line Road, is offering its 10th Annual Academy Awards Show Dinner Party from 5:30 p.m. to midnight March 24.

The event features gourmet appetizers, wine, beer, door prizes, a silent auction and awards ceremony viewing on televisions positioned throughout the cafe.

Admission is $65. Dress is creative black tie. For reservations call (816) 960-1300.

‘Swan Lake’ being staged by Topeka ballet company

Topeka  The Metropolitan Ballet of Topeka will present “Swan Lake” at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. March 24 at the Topeka Performing Arts Center, 214 S.E. Eighth.

Japanese ballerina Mifa Ko will appear as the Swan Queen Odette. She will be partnered with Ted Sothern, an international free-lance dancer. Twenty-two dancers from Metropolitan Ballet of Topeka’s Corps de Ballet will portray swans. Additional dancers will come from the Kansas City Ballet and Minneapolis Dance Theatre in Minnesota.

Tickets are $15 and $12 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger. Tickets are available at the TPAC Box Office, (785) 297-9000.

Soprano to sing concert before heading to Italy

Ottawa  Soprano Melanie Melcher, winner of the 2000 Metropolitan Opera District Audition, will present a recital at 7 p.m. Saturday at First United Methodist Church, 203 E. Fourth St.

The program will include works by Arthur Sullivan, Johann Strauss, Gaetano Donizetti, G.F. Handel and Benjamin Britten. She will be accompanied by Don Carr, instructor of piano and organ at Ottawa University.

Melcher, who grew up in Ottawa, recently returned for a visit after singing with the Anchorage Opera Studio in Alaska. In July, she will attend the International Institute of Vocal Arts in Italy.

A freewill donation will be taken to help with Melcher’s study in Europe.

Entries being sought for Smoky Hill exhibit

Hays  The Hays Arts Council is seeking entries in the 33rd Annual Smoky Hill Art Exhibition.

Kansas artists are eligible and can enter two- and three-dimensional original works. Slides of works, entry forms and fees are due Thursday.

Up to $2,000 will be awarded, including a $250 Smoky Hill landscape painting award.

The exhibit will run April 26-May 24. To obtain a prospectus or for more information, call (785) 625-7522.