'Wizard of Oz' gala to benefit Habitat for Humanity

Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity's "There's No Place Like Home" gala will include a 75th anniversary screening of "The Wizard of Oz."

The gala will include raffles, prizes and refreshments from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Monday, Sept. 8, at Hollywood Palms Cinema, 352 Route 59, Naperville.

The goal of the event is to raise more than $100,000 to build a home in Aurora for Cheryl Williams, an Aurora single mother with two daughters, said the Rev. Jeff Barrett, FVHH executive director and pastor of Genesis Community Church in Montgomery. The Williams family is scheduled to attend the event.

Fox Valley Habitat is one of eight Chicago area Habitat for Humanity affiliates selected to partner with Warner Bros. in "There's No Place Like Home," a keystone campaign of the 75th anniversary celebration of "The Wizard of Oz."

The event will open with cocktails from 5:30 to 7 p.m. A photographer will take pictures of guests with costumed characters from the film.

Oswego's Carissa Robbins, a sophomore elementary education major at Aurora University, will portray Dorothy.

Other film characters expected are Glinda the Good Witch, Scarecrow, Cowardly Lion and the Wicked Witch of the West. They will be played by children of Fox Valley Habitat families from Aurora, North Aurora and Montgomery.

The film will be shown while guests enjoy food and beverages in the auditorium's terraced seats. The seats, high-back executive leather chairs, feature tables in front of guests to provide room for food, drinks and legs.

During the evening, raffle tickets will be available for a car valued at $30,000 from Fox Valley Auto Group in St. Charles. Tickets will be sold at FVAG dealerships in St. Charles and Schaumburg and through the websites of Fox Valley Auto Group and Fox Valley Habitat for Humanity until the car is awarded in December.

For a gala ticket of $100, or a $50 donation, guests can help build "the yellow brick road" leading to the front door of the Williams family's house. Donors will be invited to sign bricks that will be used to build the sidewalk and patio at the Williams' house.

A silent auction will feature gift certificates and material items including a trip to Australia, an Elton John-signed album, and a "Mary Poppins" movie poster signed by Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. Donations are tax deductible.

Tickets are available at foxvalleyhabitat.org or at Habitat's office, 1300 S. Broadway, Montgomery. Office hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays. For details, call (630) 859-3333.