BY RUTH RICE

RRICE@TRIBDEM.COM

“Oliver!” will be presented at 7:30 tonight and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Richland Performing Arts Center, Richland Township.

Based on Charles Dickens’ classic tale of orphan boy Oliver Twist, musical numbers will include “Food, Glorious Food” and “Consider Yourself.”

Tickets are $7 for adults and $5 for students. Tonight’s production is sold out.

Information: 269-0300 or www.richlandpac.com.

Costumed benefit

Carnevale Masquerade Ball “Unmask the Cure,” the 15th annual Pink Ribbon Ball, will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at Pasquerilla Conference Center, 301 Napoleon St., downtown Johnstown.

Guests are being asked to dress in the Renaissance masquerade-style of clothing, but a costume is optional.

Papier-mache masks will be available for purchase.

There will be cocktails and hors d’oeuvres at 6, a costume contest, sit-down Italian dinner, silent and live auctions and dancing by Pittsburgh’s The Groove Doctors.

Tickets are $100 per individual ticket or $1,500 per table.

Information: 532-0251 or e-mail jegleason@gleason-inc.com.

Musical resurrected

“Jesus Christ Superstar” will be presented by the Pitt-Johnstown Theater Department at 7:30 tonight and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday in the studio theater at Pasquerilla Performing Arts Center, Richland Township.

The rock opera depicts the final seven days of the life of Christ.

Tickets, which are available at the door, are $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and $10 for students.

Information: 269-7200, (800) 846-2787 or www.upjarts.com.

Friday fun

Local musician Dave DiStefano will perform for Last Friday at 5:30 tonight at the Ethnic Social Club on the fourth floor of Heritage Discovery Center, 201 Sixth Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.

DiStefano has been playing originals and covers in the area since 1994, currently playing drums with The Chi and guitar with FlowerChild.

He also plays original and cover music shows on acoustic guitar and is known as the host of two open mics in the area – Tuesdays at the Windber Hotel and Wednesdays at Dively’s Tavern.

Doors open at 5, and there is no cover charge.

Information: 539-1889.

Lessons in chocolate

“Willy Wonka” will be presented at 7 tonight and Saturday at Blacklick Valley High School, 555 Birch St., Nanty Glo.

The story of Wonka and his chocolate factory unfolds as five children tour the factory and learn lessons from the mysterious Oompa Loompas.

Tickets are $5 for adults and $2 for children.

Information: 749-9211.

Curious meatballs

Tickets go on sale Monday for “Curious George Live,” which will swing into town April 13 and 14 at Cambria County War Memorial Arena, 326 Napoleon St., Johnstown.

In this new musical, George is on a quest to help Chef Pisghetti win the Golden Meatball Contest in Rome.

Tickets are $12, $18, $23 and $28.

Information: 536-5156, (800) 243-8499 or ticketmaster.com.

Hockey hoopla

Chiefs Day at the Children’s Museum will be held Saturday at Heritage Discovery Center, 201 Sixth Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.

The staff will be dressed in Johnstown Chiefs apparel, and there will be balloons and hockey decorations throughout the museum.

An Ice Hockey Basics workshop geared toward children between the ages of 7-12 will be presented by members of the Johnstown Trojans hockey team from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

After learning a few basic hockey techniques and practicing shooting skills, young guests will design their own goalie masks.

The Chiefs mascot will visit the museum from 11 a.m. to 12:30, and a hockey-themed craft time will be held from 3 to 4:30.

The crafts are free to JAHA members or with museum admission.

Anyone at the museum on Saturday can buy tickets to that evening’s Chiefs hockey game for $8 at the museum’s gift shop.

Information: 539-1889.

Black history

“Ms. Avery’s Musical Review,” featuring Pat Holifield as a sharp-tongued social critic, will be presented at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Bottle Works Ethnic Arts Center, 411 Third Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johns-town in celebration of Black History Month.

The review will include the West African dance troupe Kulani, Don Blake and Lust, Michele Clark, Darlene Seals, Artese Thomas, James Bush and a tribute to Michael Jackson.

Admission is $5 for ages 12 and older and $3 for senior citizens and children younger than 12.

Information: 536-5399 or 410-4680.

Home improvements

The 2010 Home Show hosted by The Galleria and The Tribune-Democrat will be held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. today and Saturday and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at The Galleria, Richland Township.

Information: 532-5164.

High-def cinema

A high-definition double feature will be presented this weekend as part of the CineMuse program for children at Heritage Discovery Center, 201 Sixth Ave. in the Cambria City section of Johnstown.

“Space – Black Holes” will be shown at 1:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

“Walking With Dinosaurs – A Time of Titans” will be shown at 2:10 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The 30-minute films are free to JAHA members or with museum admission.

Information: 539-1889.

Sisters’ story

“Interrupted Lives: Catholic Sisters Under European Communism” will be shown at 2 p.m. Sunday at the meeting of the Slovak Heritage Association of the Laurel Highlands at the Am-Slo Social Club, 85 Lenhart St., Johnstown.

The video tells the story of women religious during 40 years of communism through interviews with survivors who endured imprisonment, forced labor, deportation, exile, expulsion from their convents and seizure of their schools and hospitals.

The video also describes the life of women in the underground church.

Refreshments will be served, and the public is welcome.

A $2 donation is requested from nonmembers, except for women religious.

Art is elementary

The Somerset County Elementary School Show will be on display Saturday through March 13 at Laurel Arts, 214 S. Harrison Ave., Somerset.

An opening reception that is free and open to the public will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. March 7.

The exhibit will feature works in various art mediums from elementary students in kindergarten through grade 6 throughout Somerset County.

Regular gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays.

Information: 443-2433 or www.laurelarts.org.

Transitional art

“Kenneth Cotlar: Transcendental Transitions” will be on display through May 15 at Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art at Altoona, 1210 Eleventh Ave.

The exhibition features more than 60 of the Cambria County artist’s captivating abstract compositions.

Cotlar, who is from Ebensburg, has worked as a graphic designer for many years and has been painting full time for nearly a decade. His paintings have been exhibited in numerous juried shows and are held in private collections throughout the United States.

The exhibition will be celebrated at a Blue Monday program scheduled for March 8.

The event will include light supper and a musical performance by Barry Wicks and Jimmy Mowery.

The cost for the program is $20 per person, and reservations are required.

Cotlar also will speak during a lunch a l’art program at noon April 7.

The cost of the program is $13 for nonmembers or $12 for members, and reservations are required.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturdays.

Information: 946-4464.

Prom preview

The third annual Prom Fashion Show, sponsored by the Junior Board of Beginnings Inc., will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. March 8 at the Holiday Inn-Downtown, 250 Market St., Johnstown.

The Cambria County middle and high school students on the board will model gowns and tuxedos supplied by David’s Bridal, Deb Shops, Miller’s Formal Wear, The Bridal Suite and the Cinderella Project.

Members of the Young Professionals of the Alleghenies will provide hair and make-up services for the models.

Area businesses have donated items for an auction to be held during the show.

Tickets are $15 and include a light dinner.

Proceeds will benefit the early literacy programs of Beginnings Inc., which benefit children throughout Cambria County.

Information: 539-1919.

Country tickets

Tickets are on sale for a concert featuring country stars LeAnn Rimes and Josh Turner, which will be held at 7 p.m. March 17 at Cambria County War Memorial Arena, 326 Napoleon St., downtown Johnstown.

Rimes is a two-time Grammy winner, and Turner has been inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.

All seats are $39.50.

Information: 536-5156, (800) 745-8499, (800) 745-3000 or www.ticketmaster.com.