Oscar party co-founder Val Askew gets the ball rolling as the red carpet coverage airs in the background.
Story and photos by Bob Wellinski (click photos to enlarge)
It started out nearly a decade ago with two friends getting together to watch the Oscars. Now, every February, it’s an all-out party.
Movie buffs Val Askew and Judy Williams originally watched the awards together at Judy’s home. Then as years passed, the two invited more people, with the crowd eventually outgrowing their homes. Three years ago the party moved to the Lynn Williams Union Hall in New Carlisle.
Exceeding beyond most Oscar viewers’ couch-sitting, the event now includes Hollywood decor including a red carpet, a big-screen TV, sometimes fancy dress, a buffet and more. This year guests were greeted by paparazzi as they walked the red carpet. As the Oscars pre-party played on the screen, nearly 20 ladies visited and gnoshed as they commented on the stars and the fashions.
Askew cannot remember a time when she didn’t watch the Oscars. “It’s like the Super Bowl to me,” she said.
Cutouts of celebrities including Marilyn Monroe, Humphrey Bogart and Elvis Presley, and tables topped with miniature Oscars, added to the festivity. Shannon Alexander, of Goshen, treated the group by singing three Academy Award-winning songs including “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “My Heart Will Go On.” Guests then tested their acting abilities by delivering famous movie lines in a trivia contest. Other contests for the evening including naming the best dressed and the most Oscar-winning film.
Nothing more fun than a little Hollywood in little New Carlisle.
