Oscar night parties to help charities

Todd Wawrychuk / ©A.M.P.A.S.

LOS ANGELES, USA Oscar Night America (ONA), the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' grassroots program that enables local charities to host glamorous Oscar ® viewing parties and raise money for their organizations, starts its 18th year in 2011.

On Sunday, February 27th, 50 cities will host the official Oscar viewing parties during the 83rd Academy Awards ® ceremony. All events will feature the live broadcast of the Awards presentation on the ABC Television Network.

"Oscar Night has long been an occasion for friends and families to gather and cheer for their favourite films and stars," said Academy Executive Director Bruce Davis. "This nationwide network of fundraising parties is a natural extension of that shared experience."

The ONA 2011 locations are Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Charlottesville, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Grand Rapids (MI), Greensboro/Winston-Salem, Greenville (S.C.), Hartford, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Little Rock, Los Angeles, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Orlando, Palm Beach, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Springfield (MO), Tampa, Tucson and Washington, D.C.

Most parties are black-tie affairs, though some are less formal. Some partygoers dress up as famous couples and some events feature limousine arrivals and red carpets complete with local celebrities, paparazzi and press interviews for arriving guests.

To set these parties apart from the thousands of other events taking place on Oscar Night, each ONA party receives from the Academy copies of the official commemorative poster and the official Oscar show program.

Only one charity party in a given media market may participate in ONA. Events are entirely produced by local nonprofit organizations, with the active participation of the local ABC-TV affiliate station.

Last year 51 charities hosted viewing parties for the 82nd Academy Awards, raising more than $3 million, all of it remaining in local communities. With a record 17,497 guests attending nationwide, ONA 2010 benefitted such charities as the American Red Cross, Ronald McDonald House, Special Olympics, the United Way, Starlight Children's Foundation and the Ellie Fund (breast cancer support services).

Since its inception in 1994, the program has generated nearly $30 million in funding for a wide spectrum of charitable organizations every cent staying within the community where it was raised.

For the 18th consecutive year, Concept Marketing Development of Santa Barbara, California, will assist the Academy in coordinating the program.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center ®, and televised live on the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide