The Chicago area didn`t have much of a summer. But a taste of the tropics is coming to the Museum of Science and Industry at its 12th annual Columbian Ball Oct. 24.
Inspired by locations portrayed in ”Ring of Fire,” the latest film being shown in the Henry Crown Space Center`s Omnimax Theatre, the evening will include Pacific cuisine, exotic fire and knife dancers, a Kabuki magician and other entertainment-plus a screening of Omnimax film previews.
The event is being presented by the museum`s board of trustees and president`s council.
The Columbian Ball kicks off at 6:30 p.m. in the space center exhibition of the museum at 57th Street and Lake Shore Drive. Emceeing the black-tie event will be WBBM-TV anchor Bill Kurtis. Tickets are $250. Call 312-684-1414 for more information.
– ”The Harvest Ball is a time for celebrating among friends,” said Janet Springer, chairwoman of the 3rd annual Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois fundraiser. ”It gives us the opportunity to reflect upon the many accomplishments of LCFS over the past year.”
LCFS helps more than 10,000 children and families each year through such programs as foster care and adoption, emergency food and clothing
distribution, and the Lutherbrook Children`s Center, a residential treatment facility for abused and neglected children based in Addison.
This year`s Harvest Ball is scheduled for Oct. 23 at the Cress Creek Country Club in Naperville. It will begin at 6:30 p.m. with a social hour, followed by dinner, dancing and a silent auction.
Tickets are $65, with proceeds going to the families and children whom LCFS serves in northern Illinois. Call 708-771-7180, ext. 41, for reservations and information.
– ”Celebrating the Black Family” is the theme of this year`s St. Sabina Catholic Church benefit dinner. There`s probably no better couple to represent that theme than the husband-and-wife acting duo of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee, who will be guest performers.
The Oct. 24 fundraiser for the church, at 1210 W. 78th Pl., will raise money for a newly renovated community center, where programs are designed to develop ”the self-esteem, skills, talent and dreams of our youth,” said St. Sabina Rev. Michael Pfleger in a release.
The dinner will be held at the Chicago Marriott Hotel. Tickets are $150 each. Call 312-483-4300 for more information.
Briefly: The March of Dimes on Oct. 17 will seek out the best celebrity chefs in its ninth annual gourmet event. Held at the Hyatt Regency O`Hare Hotel, it features a celebrity cooking competition and awards. Proceeds will go to the charity`s ongoing fight against birth defects.
Judges will include Chicago-area chefs and restaurant owners, along with WLS-Ch. 7 restaurant critic James Ward. Tickets for the black-tie event, which starts at 6:15 p.m., are $200. Call 312-407-4007 for more information.
– American Airlines chairman and president Robert L. Crandall will receive the Variety Club Children`s Charities Golden Heart Award Oct. 17. Tickets are $250 for the the Variety Club`s dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Proceeds will go to the Variety Club Children`s Amputee Program at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago. For info, 312-855-0885.
Last call: United Cerebral Palsy Association of Greater Chicago holds its 25th anniversary GAMBOL on Friday, which features casino gaming, dinner and dancing. The black-tie, $200-a-ticket event will be held at 7 p.m. in the Drake Hotel. Call 312-368-0380 for more information.
– Works by local artists will be sold Friday at silent and limited live auctions, which benefit the Inspiration Cafe, a restaurant for the homeless at 1325 W. Wilson Ave. Reservations are $10 for the auction, which starts at 7 p.m. at the World Tattoo Gallery, 1255 S. Wabash Ave. For more information, call 312-878-0981.
– The Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Greater Chicago holds its ”Light the Darkness” benefit at 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Fairmont Hotel. Tickets are $150. For details, call 312-642-3338.
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