Richard M. Sherman, Hollywood Christmas Paradeand More Honored at 28th Annual Charlie Awards Luncheon Today

The Hollywood Arts Council will present the 28th Annual Charlie Awards Luncheon today, April 25, 2015 starting at 11:30 a.m. in The Blossom Room (the site for the first Academy Awards ceremony) at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel; 7000 Hollywood Boulevard (at Orange Street); Hollywood, CA 90028.

According to Shauna McClure, Executive Director of the Hollywood Arts Council: "Our annual Charlie Awards have become one of Hollywood's favorite events. Proceeds from the annual luncheon benefit the programs of the Hollywood Arts Council, most particularly, Project S.O.A.R. (Students Overcoming All Risks), the Council's arts workshops presented at Hollywood area elementary schools. We're proud of our track record of offering high quality arts education through Project S.O.A.R. because we know that meaningful engagement in the arts helps keep children in school. The arts can provide the spark and motivation to keep at-risk and underserved students on the path to graduation. The Charlie Awards also support the Council's free Annual Children's Festival of the Arts at Paramount Pictures held on the second Sunday of August, as well as other worthy and necessary community efforts."

The 28th Annual Charlie Awards will be emceed by ABC7's award-winning entertainment reporter, George Pennacchio. Celebrity guests will present awards to individuals and companies for significant contributions to the arts and Hollywood. 2014 Charlie Award Honorees include: RICHARD M. SHERMAN (Music Arts Award), NEWFILMMAKERS LOS ANGELES (Cinema Arts Award), GEORGE PENNACCHIO (Media Arts Award), OPEN FIST THEATRE COMPANY (Theatre Arts Award), PINK'S HOT DOGS (Inaugural Culinary Arts Award), CHRISTY McAVOY, HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (Preservation Arts Award) and HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS PARADE PRODUCED BY ASSOCIATED TELEVISION INTERNATIONAL (Entertainment Arts Award).

The Annual Charlie Awards are attended by more than 300 dignitaries, community leaders and special guests. Event Gold Sponsors will include: Asanti Enterprises, Associated Television, Inc., Author Services, Inc., Classic Arts Showcase, Discover Hollywood Magazine (Media Sponsor); First Foundation Advisors, Paramount Pictures, Pink's Hot Dogs and Variety (Media Sponsor). Silver Sponsors will include: Alliance Residential Company and Crescent Heights Realty. Bronze Sponsors will include: ABC7 Television, COP Communications, Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood Heritage, The Nederlander Organization, Occidental Entertainment, The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation, Robertson Properties, Sunset Gower & Sunset Bronson Studios and The Walt Disney Company.

A Special Musical Presentation of Sherman Brother songs will be performed by students from Selma Avenue School in Hollywood, under the musical direction of Melissa Berman, a music teacher who works on behalf of the Hollywood Arts Council to bring music into local schools. Glenn Tribitz of Hollywood Piano Company will serve as Musical Director of the event. Centerpieces for the event will be provided by Fancy Nancy Décor, and third graders from Cheremoya Elementary School, with the assistance of Elayne Koslow, an art instructor. Gavin Minton will oversee video presentations.

The 28th Annual Charlie Awards Luncheon is open to the general public. Tickets are $100 each. For reservations and further information, please call the Hollywood Arts Council at 323-462-2355 and visit the website www.hollywoodartscouncil.org. Valet Parking is available. An Online Auction for one-of-kind celebrity items, shows, arts, etc. is being held at www.biddingforgood.com/hollywoodartscouncil in advance of the Charlie Awards. Please visit online for details. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/HwArtsCouncil. Tweet with us at @Hwartscouncil; #charlieawards2014.

This Year's Charlie Award Honorees:
RICHARD M. SHERMAN (Music Arts Award) The Sherman Brothers' (Richard M. Sherman and the late Robert B. Sherman) prolific careers have spanned over six decades. Their achievements include: two Academy Awards for MARY POPPINS (score) and CHIM CHIM CHER-EE (song), nine Oscar nominations, three Grammy Awards, 24 Gold and Platinum albums, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and notably a National Medal of Arts presented at the White House in 2008. The Sherman Brothers' 36 feature Disney film credits include: JUNGLE BOOK, THE PARENT TRAP and the WINNIE THE POOH series. They wrote Disney's long-running television theme song, THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF COLOR and their many contributions to Disney theme parks include: THE TIKI TIKI TIKI ROOM and the most translated song on earth, IT'S A SMALL WORLD (AFTER ALL). After their Disney decade, The Shermans wrote words and music for CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG, SNOOPY COME HOME and CHARLOTTE'S WEB. The Walt Disney Company's 2013 film SAVING MR. BANKS, about the making of the film, MARY POPPINS features actors Jason Schwartzman as Richard M. Sherman and B.J. Novak as Robert B. Sherman, along with Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as P.L. Travers. To learn more, please visit the website, www.disney.com.

NEWFILMMAKERS LOS ANGELES (Cinema Arts Award) Founded in 2007 and located in Sunset Gower Studios, the non-profit 501(c) 3 organization has established itself as a strong gathering place for independent cinema with over 20,000 constituents in the Los Angeles community, screening upwards of 750 films from over 43 countries. In addition to fostering the advancement of new filmmakers and its members in Los Angeles, NewFilmmakers Los Angeles' objective is to promote the economic, educational, social, and cultural advancement of filmmaking, arts and culture. Many well-known films have debuted and been discovered at NewFilmmakers Los Angeles including TOO MUCH SLEEP, ZERO DAY and BLAIR WITH PROJECT. To learn more, please visit www.newfilmmakersla.com.

GEORGE PENNACCHIO (Media Arts Award) George Pennacchio is the Entertainment Guru for ABC7 Eyewitness News. He is also host of ABC7's "On The Red Carpet At The Oscars" pre-show and post-show. He has won three Emmy Awards for his work and has been honored with The Press Award by The Publicists Guild of America for his coverage of the entertainment industry. Pennacchio is only one of six journalists who have received The Critics' Critic Award from The Broadcast Film Critics Association, North America's largest critics group. He is also the recipient of several National Entertainment Journalism Awards for his coverage of Hollywood. To learn more, please visit www.abclocal.go.com/kabc/index.

OPEN FIST THEATRE COMPANY (Theatre Arts Award) The Open Fist Theatre Company was founded in 1990 by five graduates of Cal State Fullerton under the Artistic Directorship of Ziad Hamzeh. Under the current leadership of Artistic Director Martha Demson, the company has evolved into a collective, self-producing artistic enterprise with all facets of its operation run by its artist members. The company has won 11 LA Weekly Awards, six Back Stage West Garland Awards, 11 Ovations Awards and 20 Drama-Logue Awards. In addition, the company has received an additional 45 LA Weekly Award nominations, three Back Stage West Garland Award nominations, six Ovation Award nominations and 18 Back Stage West Garland Award Honorable Mentions. To learn more, please visit www.openfist.org.

PINK'S HOT DOGS (Inaugural Culinary Arts Award) is a landmark ultimate mom and pop hot dog stand founded in 1939 by Paul and Betty Pink as a pushcart near the corner of La Brea Avenue and Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Now celebrating their 75th Anniversary, Pink's is renowned for its delicious variety of hot dogs and hamburgers, huge portions and affordable prices. Its historic, fun atmosphere is considered a quintessential Hollywood experience, particularly for the late-night club crowd. Pink's has been visited by many stars too, ranging from Orson Welles to Betty White to Michael Jackson and Jay Leno. The hot dog establishment is currently run today by Richard, Gloria and Beverly Pink. To learn more, please visit the website, www.pinkshollywood.com.

CHRISTY McAVOY, HISTORIC RESOURCES GROUP (Preservation Arts Award) Christy Johnson McAvoy, Founding Principal of Historic Resources Group (HRG), now celebrating its 25th Anniversary, has been at the forefront of historic preservation since the late 1970s. McAvoy's command of the regulatory and incentive environments for historic resources combined with expertise in urban and social history has enabled HRG to successfully develop creative and integrated approaches to a wide variety of preservation efforts including the rehabilitation and adaptive reuse of historic buildings, historic resource identification, preservation planning, environmental review, community outreach, and heritage education. McAvoy consults with real estate developers, architects, public agencies and non-profit organizations to help them meet their preservation-related planning, educational and economic needs. Recent projects include SurveyLA, a multi-year historic resource survey and educational effort of the City of Los Angeles Planning Department. Her work has received recognition from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the American Institute of Architects, the California Preservation Foundation, the Cultural Heritage Commission of the City of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Conservancy; the Los Angeles City Historical Society and the Governor of California. She served on the Board of Advisors of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and on the Board of the National Center for Preservation Training and Technology. She is a past president of both the Los Angeles Conservancy and the California Preservation Foundation and a co-founder of Hollywood Heritage. To learn more, please visit the website www.historicla.com.

HOLLYWOOD CHRISTMAS PARADE PRODUCED BY ASSOCIATED TELEVISION INC. (Entertainment Arts Award) The Hollywood Christmas Parade, a treasured American holiday tradition in its 83rd year, has been revitalized thanks to Emmy Award-nominated television personality Laura McKenzie whose vision and interest in the parade led Associated Television International (ATI) to become involved as the parade's producer. Taped for both national and local telecasts, the parade is hosted by Laura McKenzie ("World's Funniest Moments," "Laura McKenzie's Traveler"); Dean Cain ("Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Ripley's Believe It or Not!"); Erik Estrada ("World's Funniest Moments," "CHiPS") and Montel Williams ("The Montel Williams Show"). The live parade is made possible by The City of Los Angeles in association with ATI, which produces telecasts of the parade airing on major television networks during the holiday season. Each year the parade features a Celebrity Grand Marshal as well as other celebrities from film, television and stage, award-winning bands from around the country, colorful equestrians, ornate floats, spectacular live celebrity performers, festive balloons and popular characters/novelties and, or course Santa Claus. To learn more, please visit www.thehollywoodchristmasparade.org.

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