By Nikki Rodriguez

The Dart predicts the top events, local and national, to look forward to throughout 2012:

February

17-26: Performance of “Romeo & Juliet” at Kauffman

25: Kansas vs. Missouri basketball game: Border war schools face off at Kansas’ home court in Lawrence.

March

1: Drake concert: After the release of his sophomore album “Take Care,” Drake’s second world tour, The Paradise Club Tour, comes to the Sprint Center.

11: Radiohead concert: Radiohead comes to the Sprint Center in its first tour in four years. The tour follows their 2011 album release, “The King of Limbs.”

23: “The Hunger Games” premieres: The much-anticipated first movie based on the similarly named 2008 novel in the series by Suzanne Collins has been two years in the making.

26: Madonna’s “MDNA” released: The “Queen of Pop” hyped her twelfth studio album in this year’s Super Bowl halftime performance.

April

3: Nicki Minaj’s “Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded” released: Despite the delay from the originally projected Valentine’s Day release date, Nicki Minaj’s sophomore album is expected to be a hit.

6: Lady Antebellum concert: Darius Rucker joins Lady Antebellum on its Own the Night Tour.

6-8: “Narnia: the Musical” at Kauffman

13: Royal’s Home Opener: The Royals face the Cleveland Indians in their season opening home game at Kauffman Stadium.

22: Van Halen concert

June

5: Nickelback concert: Nickelback comes to the Sprint Center on the “Here & Now Tour 2012” with guests BUSH, Seether, and My Darkest Days.

July

3: “The Amazing Spiderman” premieres

20: “The Dark Knight Rises” premieres: Three years after “The Dark Knight” with Heath Ledger as the Joker, Christian Bale stars again as Batman with the addition of Anne Hathaway as Catwoman.

27: Olympic games start: The opening ceremony for the 2012 Summer Olympics begin in London, England.

August

3-4: Kanrocksas: A second annual Kanrocksas music festival is still in the works, but last year’s two-day performance-packed festival featured numerous artists. (Projected dates)

November

6: Election Day: Tuesday, November 6 is the 2012 Presidential election.

16: “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2” premieres: The final movie in a four book, five movie series will certainly gain attention from infamously crazed fans. As the end of an era, (seven years from the 2005 release date of the first book) this is definitely something we will hear about.

December

14: “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey” premieres: The first part of the film adaptation of the final book of “The Lord of the Rings” series. J. R. R. Tolkien’s novel “The Hobbit” is a prequel to the series.