September 22, 2004 (Washington, D.C.) – You don’t have to be in Hollywood to experience the magic and excitement of the Oscars®. Residents of the Washington area can join the red carpet festivities when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences stages its 77th Academy Awards® Presentation on Sunday, February 27, 2005 at the American Film Institute’s Silver Theatre and Cultural Center in Silver Spring. Washington’s own Academy-sanctioned party is one of 46 official parties that will be held across the nation on Oscar Night. [Announcement]

Party-goers will watch the Academy Awards telecast on the ABC Television Network, which broadcasts the annual Academy Awards Presentation. ABC and the Academy are cooperating for the eleventh year with local charities to create official Oscar Night viewing parties.

Proceeds from Oscar Night America benefit First Star, a Washington-based charity dedicated to improving life for America’s abused and neglected children and AFI Silver; 2005 marks the fourth consecutive year that the Washington party has been officially sanctioned by the Academy.

“Thanks to the Academy, Oscar Night generates excitement all over the world,” said Deborah Sams, CEO of First Star. “We are delighted to be partners with AFI Silver Theater this year. Our Oscar Night guests will feel like A-Listers. This is going to be a fun night.”

Official Oscar Night parties last year raised more than $1.7 million for local charities in 37 cities. All money raised stays in the community; none of it goes to the Academy. The Academy will make available to party guests in Washington the same official program experienced by the audience at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland in Hollywood, California.

Created by the citizens of Montgomery County, Maryland, the AFI Silver Theatre and Cultural Center is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) dedicated to artists, educators and audiences of the world. Anchored by the restoration of noted architect John Eberson's historic 1938 Silver Theatre, the AFI Silver offers state-of-the-art moving image exhibition and education.

First Star is a national non-profit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to improving life for America's most vulnerable children through a collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to education, research, public policy and public awareness. First Star’s mission is to put children first by ensuring that each and every child in America is given the very best care, protection and representation that results in a safe, nurturing and permanent home.

Oscar Night® America is a program of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a professional honorary organization founded to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures; foster cooperation among creative leaders for cultural, educational and technological progress; recognize outstanding achievements; cooperate on technical research and improvement of methods and equipment; provide a common forum and meeting ground for various branches and crafts; represent the viewpoint of actual creators of the motion picture; and foster educational activities between the professional community and the public-at-large. The Academy Awards® Presentation is the Academy's most important activity and has enabled the organization to maintain a varied year-around calendar of programs and events and a wide-ranging educational and cultural agenda.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the American Film Institute Silver Theatre and Cultural Center are separate entities and are not affiliated.