Oscar Night® Minnesota 2008 Benefits MAP

On February 24 (deo volente), the 80th Oscars, or Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Awards, takes place at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, televised live by ABC. Simultaneously, Minneapolis’s Chambers Hotel will be alight with myriad big screens, bringing the proceedings to VIP guests celebrating Oscar Night® Minnesota 2008. The fund-raiser, benefiting Minnesota AIDS Project (MAP) and presented by RBC Dain Rauscher, is Minnesota’s only Academy-sanctioned Oscar Night® America party.

Oscar parties started in Minneapolis in 1988, when a few guests watching the show at Scott Mayer’s home decided to donate their pool winnings to (MAP). The event grew, coming under Academy auspices in 1993 as one of a number of such nationwide soirees known collectively—and exclusively—as Oscar Night® America. Attendance at first the Orpheum Theatre and finally the State Theatre, swelled to more than 2,500, which became logistically difficult to
maintain.

This year, the MAP-run gala has been recast for the new Chambers Hotel. The shift to a more condensed, pricier party is designed, according to MAP Special Events Manager Ande Lund, to introduce a “smaller, edgier, and less-expensive [to produce] event.” The $150-a-head ticket, in a more manageable environment, will allow $125 of the $150 to go to MAP for its many community events, which include the upcoming Minnesota AIDS walk on May 18.

A ticket gains admission to the party, Ice Bar, ART Gallery, and silent auction, plus complimentary appetizers and a signature cocktail. For its part, the Chambers is going all out for the comfort and convenience of its VIP guests. On arrival, they will be ushered in on a red carpet.

“After all,” Lund concedes, “it’s billed as a ‘Red Carpet Attire’ affair, so there’d better be a long one.” Red Carpet Attire, he explains, is “attire the stars might wear to the Awards”—so pick your star, and dress accordingly.

Four rooms will be devoted to large TV screen viewings of the Hollywood goings-on, as well as screens throughout the hotel for uninterrupted viewing and schmoozing. No commercials! A DJ and speeches will keep the good times rolling.

The Chambers Kitchen will offer a prix fixe Oscar Night® three-course dinner prior to the telecast, with rooms available at special rates for guests planning to make a night of it.

Oscar Night® Minnesota
Doors open 6 PM
Dinner and/or hotel reservations:
(612) 373-2411
Non-ticket questions:
[email protected]