THE KATE IS ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET

Roll out the red carpet for a special Connecticut celebration of the Academy Awards.  Don't fret that you can't be in Hollywood for all the festivities, for the Katherine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center in Old Saybrook will be bubbling with champagne and all the party fixings.  Hosted  by WTNH's vivacious Ann Nyberg and Comcast's sparkling Kristen Roberts, the 3rd Annual Oscar Night Party will begin at 7 p.m., Sunday, February 24 and you're invited to dress up for the fun.

Will the best picture go to the intriguing true Iranian adventure  "Argo," the French Revolution's intense musical saga "Les Miserables," the real life military mission "Zero Dark Thirty," the involving plight of a man with a bi-polar disorder in "Silver Linings Playbook," the humanity driven tale of a former President "Lincoln," the searing story of a boy and a tiger cast out to sea in "Life of Pi," the world viewed through the eyes of an inquisitive child in "Beasts of the Southern Wild," how a slave earns a bounty and his freedom in "Django Unchained" or the moving story of a couple and their lasting love in "Amour"?

Will the best actor nod go to a mentally conflicted man played by Bradley Cooper, a dedicated, heroic Lincoln portrayed by Daniel Day-Lewis, a fleeing French criminal created by Hugh Jackman, a war veteran suffering from stress captured by Joaquin Phoenix or a pilot accused of irresponsibility envisioned by Denzel Washington?

In the leading actress category, the candidates go from a young curious child Quvenzhane Wallis in "Beasts of the Southern Wild" to a woman who has been well loved to the end of her life, Emmanuelle Riva in "Amour," with a determined mission leader Jessica Chastain in "Zero Dark Thirty," a young woman fighting her way out of depression, Jennifer Lawrence in "Silver Linings Playbook" and a mother caught in a tsunami, Naomi Watts in "The Impossible,"completing the array.

Dozens of other categories will encompass documentaries, film editing, costume design, directing, supporting actors, music, foreign language films, writing, visual effects and much, much more.

To reserve your place ($55, $50 members), call the Kate, 300 Main Street, Old Saybrook at 877-503-1286 or online at www.thekate.org.

Make your personal selections and watch the stars illuminate the Hollywood sky as Oscar Night's Academy Awards single out the best of the best.  Be there and applaud your favorites.