Assorted ramblings from the world of entertainment:

l The Avengers dominated movie theaters last weekend, and the superheroes will make a free appearance this weekend at comic book stores nationwide.

Saturday is the 18th Free Comic Book Day, an event created to promote the hobby and attract new readers and collectors. This year, about 50 titles will be available for free on a first-come basis at participating shops.

Greg Bartholomew, owner of All-American Cards and Comics locations in downtown Warren and Boardman, said he expects the Avengers comic to be the most in-demand title this year. And the fact that Free Comic Book Day usually coincides with the release of a new Marvel movie usually helps bring new customers into the store.

Other titles will be familiar even to those who don’t follow superheroes with books inspired by the television series “Stranger Things,” “Doctor Who” and “Riverdale” (a modernized version of the old Archie comics) and a title called “Welcome to Whedonverse,” which tells new stories featuring characters from the Joss Whedon television series “Firefly” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

Bartholomew will have local artists — two in Warren and four in Boardman — displaying their craft during the event, and he will use it to promote the Youngstown Comic Con at the Covelli Centre on July 6 and 7.

Other area shops scheduled to participate in Free Comic Book Day are Liberty Comics in Youngstown and Bennie’s in Sharon, Pa. Books will be available while supplies last.

l In addition to Free Comic Book Day, Saturday is the unofficial “Star Wars” holiday “May the Fourth Be with You.”

A group of local comedians will celebrate by presenting “The Non-Celebrity Roast of Darth Vader.” Carlos Rivera, Tom Smith, Craig Latchaw, Will Hopkins and Aaron Smith will tell jokes and insults about the man in black, who will be played by Joe McCormick.

The show starts at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Calvin Center, 755 Mahoning Ave., Youngstown. Admission is $10 and doors open at 7 p.m.

l Have a food idea that you think should be on store shelves? The Center for Innovative Food Technology and the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation have a contest that could help make that happen.

Entries will be accepted through May 31 for the Ohio Signature Food Contest. Food industry experts will evaluate the proposals based on viability, commercial potential, business strategy, marketability and overall appeal.

The winners, who will be announced during the Ohio State Fair, will get several perks that could make their concept a reality, including technical and business development assistance; nutritional analysis, shelf life / stability test; a review of trademark and copyright components; coordination with Ohio Department of Agriculture for label approval; and label design, packaging and ingredient source consultation.

Charlie Garrett of Newton Falls was one of the 2017 winners for his hot pepper relish.

Entry forms and rules and regulations can be found online at ciftinnova tion.org.

l The 50th anniversary Woodstock concert was canceled this week, but there will be no shortage of Woodstock nostalgia.

This week, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Museum opened an exhibition focused primarily on the 1969 event. Among the artifacts on display are the guitar strap used by Jimi Hendrix when he played his electric guitar version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the end of the fest; a hand-drawn map of the festival grounds and a telegram from Woodstock organizer Michael Lang about plans to film the event; and the outfit John Sebastian of the Lovin’ Spoonful wore for his unscheduled performance at Woodstock.

Rare video footage from the Rock Hall collection will be shown along with several items from concert photographer Jim Marshall, including prints and contact sheets of his Woodstock photos and some of the gear he used that weekend.

For those who have fond (or hazy) memories of the other Woodstock anniversary shows, the exhibit will include the muddy shoes Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong wore during the band’s set at Woodstock 1994.

Andy Gray is the entertainment writer for the Tribune Chronicle. Write to him at agray@tribtoday .com