Sure, there will be gatherings galore this weekend as the 82nd annual Academy Awards beam out across the planet Sunday night in Hollywood.
But how many Atlanta viewing parties can tout raising money for a good cause, multiple screens throughout a 14.5 million Buckhead mansion and a cameo appearance by a little fellow named Oscar?
Just one that we know of: The second annual A Red Carpet Affair, benefiting Atlanta attorney Gary Martin Hays‘ Keep Georgia Safe non-profit.
Hays, along with Keep Georgia Safe executive director Mary Ellen Fulkus are co-chairing the evening with Captain Planet Foundation president Ira Blumenthal and Atlanta Falcon Ovie Mughelli who will be representing his namesake non-profit foundation.
Atlanta custom home builder Steve West is hosting the evening at his luxe estate.
West tells us his guests will be allowed to pose for pictures along with a real Oscar.
How did West acquire the 24-carat gold-plated piece of Tinseltown achievement?
He bought it along with the other assets of the Dodge Trophy company in 1983.
“In was inside a company vault in Tucker, Georgia,” West tells Intel. “We couldn’t believe it. I just remember thinking, ‘Wow, this is very cool.’ “
Dodge Trophy began making the gold statuettes back in 1930 and had the Academy Awards statuette contract through the early 1980s when owner Ray Dodge ceased operation of his company.
The Oscar trophy in the vault had been returned to the company due to a defect in its base. It remains unengraved.
“If you polish it up, it looks exactly the way it did in 1982 when it was new,” says West. “I suppose you could sell it. But its real value to me is nostalgic. I don’t let a lot of people know about it.”
Next month, West’s mansion becomes a Hollywood soundstage when it’s set to become a locale for the new Farrelly Brothers‘ comedy, “Hall Pass” starring Owen Wilson.
The “Marley & Me” actor has been invited to Sunday’s soiree.
And just like the real Oscars on the left coast, guests can experience the Richie Arpino Salon/Authentic Beauty Green Room where attendees can relax and receive glamorous touch ups throughout the lengthy evening.
Tickets are $100 per person or $150 per couple.
While Hollywood glitz is the evening’s central theme, the non-profit that provides safety and crime prevention training and operates a wireless state-wide emergency alert system wants guests to remember why they’re there.
The evening’s honorary co-chairs are Lawrenceville couple Joan and Mike Berry. The parents lost their daughter, University of Tennessee grad student Johnia Berry to violent crime in 2004.
The evening is dedicated to Johnia’s memory.
To purchase tickets, go to Keep Georgia Safe’s official Website.
