This weekend from June 7-10, the 40th annual Superman Celebration will be held in Metropolis, Illinois, this is a celebration of anything involved with the comic book superhero Superman.

According to the Metropolis tourism website, DC Comics adopted Metropolis as the official home of Superman in 1972. Located in proximity to the Ohio River, every summer people come to Metropolis for this celebration of a comic book legend.

According to the Metropolis website, There is a giant statue of Superman at the heart of Superman Square, and a statue of the character Lois Lane to honor actress Noel Nellie. In addition, there is little shops in the town Superman themed, there is something for any Superman fan, for any age group.

According to the Superman Celebration website,  There will be many celebrities featured, like John Haymes Newton who played the characters Superboy and Clark Kent on the “Superboy” television series, Jack O’Holloran who played the character Non in “Superman: The Movie”, Aaron Smolinski who appeared in multiple Superman movies, most notably as the character Baby Superman in “Superman: The Movie”, and a few other celebrities associated with the franchise.

Also according to the Superman Celebration website, There is a “Artists Alley” where you can meet famous authors and artists from the comic book business. like New York Times Best Selling and Eisner Award Winning “D.C. Comics’ Tiny Titans” cartoonist Art Baltazar, Alex Saviuk who is an American comic book artist who has worked in both DC and Marvel Comics, former writer and editor for DC Comics and current editor-in-chief for “Back Issue!” magazine Michael Eury, among many others.

There are tiny shops that have Superman themed items, and you can even meet The Man of Steel himself as he walks around town and greets his fans.

It is four days of everything Superman, that ends on Sunday with a costume contest. You can dress up as anyone you want and participate in the competition.

Can you handle four days of DC Comic’s most famous superhero? Take a trip to Southern Illinois and join in this year’s celebration.

Mary Ellen Greenburg can be reached at 581-2812, or megreenburg@eiu.edu