LAS VEGAS — Barry Manilow’s seasonal production “A Very Barry Christmas” is making its way back to Westgate’s International Theater, with shows running Dec. 5-7 and Dec. 12-14. NBC will air the show on Dec. 19.

Backed by a bolstered horn section, Manilow will play his hits “Copacabana,” “Mandy,” “I Write the Songs” and “Looks Like We Made it,” and holiday favorites “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Jingle Bells.”

The 81-year-old announced in July an entire year of performances beginning Feb. 13, 2025, with a total of 48 dates. Tickets are on sale at WestgateResorts.com.

“We’re sold out night after night after night, and the audiences are just great,” Manilow said in a September 2023 interview. “It’s great. There’s no reason to not keep playing.”

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Jason Kelce, Stevie Nicks release Christmas duet

Jason Kelce has a new teammate in Stevie Nicks, as the unlikely pair has released a Christmas duet.

The recently retired Philadelphia Eagles Center, 37, and Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, 76, dropped “Maybe This Christmas” on YouTube on Thursday. The country-twinged track is available to stream.

Kelce and fellow former Eagles teammates Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson annually produce a Christmas album under the Philly Specials banner, and the hoiday song also will appear on the album.

During an episode of Kelce’s “New Heights” podcast last week, which he co-hosts with younger brother Travis, Jason gushed Nicks, who recorded alongside him in studio.

“The legendary Stevie Nicks came on and did a duet with me, which, in itself — pretty crazy to actually be on a track with Stevie Nicks,” said Jason. “The fact that I’m singing with her, this legend, is pretty unreal.”

Nicks isn’t the only famous voice on the album, which also features “It’s Christmastime (In Cleveland Heights)” with Boyz II Men.

The Kelce-Nicks track dropped amidst a not-so-jolly time for Jason, whose reputation has taken a hit amidst a heckling incident outside Penn State’s Beaver Stadium last weekend.

The fan used a homophobic slur when referring to Travis and his romance with Taylor Swift, only for Jason to parrot the slur and slam the man’s phone to the ground. Jason apologized and his brother has defended his character, but the incident is being investigated by university police.

Nicks recently told Rolling Stone she gifted Travis Kelce a cashmere blanket, as she does “for my friends if there’s a special occasion.” Unclear what the special occasion was but the Fleetwood Mac alum said she hopes Travis and Swift, 34, “fall deeper in love and ride off into the sunset.”

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Children's book by chef Jamie Oliver is withdrawn after criticism from Indigenous Australians

LONDON — A children's book written by British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been withdrawn from sale after it was criticised for causing offense to Indigenous Australians.

The Guardian newspaper reported Saturday that the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Corporation blasted “Billy And The Epic Escape,” which was published earlier this year, for employing a series of tropes and stereotypes about Indigenous Australians, including their relationships with the natural and spiritual worlds.

The group criticized one of the fantasy novel's subplots, which tells the story of an Indigenous girl living in foster care, for contributing to the “erasure, trivialisation, and stereotyping of First Nations peoples and experiences."

In a statement, Oliver, 49, said he was “devastated” to have caused offense and apologized “wholeheartedly.”

“It was never my intention to misinterpret this deeply painful issue," he said. "Together with my publishers we have decided to withdraw the book from sale.”

Indigenous campaigners were particularly aghast that neither Oliver nor his publishers, Penguin Random House, had consulted with them before the novel was published.

“It is clear that our publishing standards fell short on this occasion, and we must learn from that and take decisive action,” the publisher said. "With that in mind, we have agreed with our author, Jamie Oliver, that we will be withdrawing the book from sale.”

Oliver, who is in Australia promoting his latest recipe book, is among a long list of celebrities to have put their names to children's books, a trend that has been criticized by many children's authors, who say they are being crowded out of their market.

Oliver released his first children’s book, “Billy And The Giant Adventure,” last year and said in a social media post that he had “carefully chosen the font to make sure the text is as clear as possible” as dyslexic people like himself can find it hard to read.

Oliver, who rose to fame in 1999 with his book and television show “The Naked Chef,” has long campaigned on children’s food and nutrition and caused a furore in 2005 when he hit out at the nutritional of some school dinners in the U.K.

From combined wire services