April 5 Weekend Preview

There are tons of things to do this weekend. You have movies, a music festival, Planet Comicon, indoor football and playoff hockey. First off the movies, you have a remake and a 3D re-release coming your way. There is the Evil Dead. In the much anticipated remake of the 1981 cult-hit horror film, five twenty-something friends become holed up in a remote cabin. When they discover a Book of the Dead, they unwittingly summon up dormant demons living in the nearby woods, which possess the youngsters in succession until only one is left intact to fight for survival.

Then you have Jurassic Park 3D. Universal Pictures is releasing Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking masterpiece "Jurassic Park" in 3D on Friday. With his remastering of the epic into a state-of-the-art 3D format, Spielberg introduces the three-time Academy Award-winning blockbuster to a new generation of moviegoers and allows longtime fans to experience the world he envisioned in a way that was unimaginable during the film's original release.

If music is your thing then you should checkout the Middle of the Map Music Festival. The 3rd Annual Middle of the Map Fest is April 4-6 in a variety of venues in Westport, featuring local, national, international and emerging talent. Some of the bands performing include Grizzly Bear, The Joy Formidable, Deerhoof, Divine Fits, Tennis and many more. The music festival is the first of the three-part festival. A forum featuring speakers will be held April 17-19 and a film festival will be May 1-5. Tickets to the music festival are $45 for a three-day pass. More information and tickets are available for purchase on their website.

Then there is Planet Comicon, the largest convention of comic books and pop culture in the midwest. Lou Ferrigno, Lee Meriwether, George Takei, and Lindsay Wagner are among the celebrities who will be in Kansas City this weekend for Planet Comicon. I know the guys that put this convention together and they work hard to make sure you have a great time. Be sure to stop by the Elite Comics table while you are there. William Binderup runs the coolest comic book shop on the planet so stop by and show him some love ($). The events will take place April 6 and 7 at Bartle Hall in downtown Kansas City. Saturday's schedule is from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. Ticket prices for an adult all weekend pass is $40. For more information visit their website.

Also, Elite Comics will be hosting a ComiCon Afterparty at Alamo Drafthouse. So you can keep the party going all day.

The Missouri Mavericks look to continue to hold off elimination by the Rapid City Rush in CHL Playoff action. The Mavs are down 2-1 but look to tie up and take a lead in the series as they host games this Friday and Saturday.

The Renegades are also in action this Saturday. They take on interstate rival the Wichita Wild at Kemper Arena. The parking lot opens at 4:30 pm for tailgating and arena gates open at 6:20, the game starts at 7:05.

The Topeka RoadRunners start their path to a Robbie Cup this Saturday and Hooters will be there spice things up. There will be a wing eating contest during the first intermission where one lucky fan could win an awesome prize from Hooters and a pair of tickets to see Justin Moore live at the Expocentre on April 11. The world famous Hooter girls will also be in attendance tossing out a few t-shirts and whipping the home crowd into a frenzy as your RoadRunners skate for a win!

Following Saturday night’s game, the RoadRunners will be putting the team’s blue road jerseys up for auction. Kurt Young of Super 8 at Forbes Landing will preside over the auction in sections 113 and 115. Also over the weekend they will acknowledge the RoadRunners who will be aging out and moving on from RoadRunner Nation after this season. Be at Landon Arena for what could be your last chance to see these hockey heroes in a RoadRunner uniform.