Hollywood Palms Oscar night viewing party benefits children’s charity

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Cast and crew of "The King's Speech" accept the award for best picture at the 83rd Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 27, 2011, in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Updated: March 23, 2012 8:02AM

Naperville Oscar aficionados don’t need to travel to Hollywood for a red carpet experience. The Academy Awards will be celebrated here. And this party also will benefit an organization dedicated to improving the lives of local children in need.

On Oscar night, Sunday, Feb. 26, the annual Academy Awards Viewing Party at the Hollywood Palms Theatre is the only big screen Oscar party in the Chicagoland area, according to Angelique Barthel, director of marketing and media relations for Hollywood Cinemas.

The event began six years ago to raise money for Variety Children’s Charity of Illinois. The first party was attended by 35 people and raised $1,000. Last year, 240 people attended, raising $10,000.

“Every year it’s gotten bigger and more fun,” Barthel said. “And now it’s this great party that sells out, and we’re so excited about it.”

The money raised goes to support Variety Children’s Charity of Illinois, a group of business leaders who donate their time, resources and energy to positively impact the lives of children in their own communities and around the world. The group’s primary focus in Illinois is to help children with disabilities through their mobility program “Kids on the Go!” Through their efforts, they provide durable medical equipment like sports mobility equipment, basketball wheelchairs, adaptive bikes and special needs strollers, that children and their families cannot afford or are denied by their health insurance.

“It really does make a difference not only in the child but also the brother, the sister,” said Vince Pagone, managing director of Variety Children’s Charity of Illinois. “They can spend time together. The stories we hear about families coming together over something as simple as a recumbent bike is amazing.”

Because there has been a longtime connection between the motion picture industry and the charity, including the Gold Heart Pin Drive that takes place each year at this time, Barthel was familiar with the program and wanted to do more. That is when she came up with the idea of hosting an Oscar party in Naperville.

“We’re very fortunate she started this Oscar party, and we’re the recipient charity,” Pagone said.

For the party, the show is projected on the big screen in the theater, while Naperville resident and WIND AM 560 radio show DJ Sarah Adamson keeps the lulls in action entertaining. As hostess, Adamson gives her commentary, makes announcements and gives away prizes.

“(Sarah) gets everyone talking about what they thought about who won (and) who should’ve won,” Barthel said. “Commercial breaks are not quiet. We have a lot of fun in between.”

Guests, who are encouraged to wear their best “glam attire,” receive a swag bag valued at $140 along with a souvenir red carpet photo print. Throughout the evening there is a silent auction and raffles. Naperville’s Diamond Gallery also sponsors a lucky box contest. Twenty-five boxes are sold to participants for $20 a piece. One of the boxes holds a $500 pair of diamond earrings. Everyone else receives a pair of crystal earrings.

“Because the event’s been growing, we’ve gotten bigger and better prizes,” Barthel said. “There are so many fun ways to get involved.”