Fernbank Museum of Natural History

Press Release

ATLANTA—Perhaps chocolate really is as good as gold. Fernbank Museum found sweet success at its 12th annual fundraiser, Lost Oasis: Search for the Golden Ticket on Saturday, June 3. The event raised $120,000 to benefit BONES for Kids (Building On Experiences in Science), a fund established by the Artemis Guild to enrich children’s programming at Fernbank Museum.

This year’s party was inspired by the Museum’s Chocolate exhibition and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s classic novel. Long-time Museum supporters Kristine and David Rudolph were honored, and Rebecca and Randy Moore, and Liz and Larry Sommerfeld served as the event chairs.

Kingsized delighted the crowd of nearly 600 revelers with a variety of musical numbers, including their own version of the “Oompa Loompa” song from the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory complete with a dance performance by the Dames Aflame. Even “Willy Wonka” himself made an appearance during the evening’s festivities adorned in his top hat, purple coat, white sunglasses and his signature walking stick.

Guests enjoyed a variety of “scrumdidilyumptious” cuisine from Carol Parks Catering, as well as the delicious creations of Jonathan St. Hilaire, the Corporate Executive Pastry Chef of Concentrics Restaurants in the Dessert Room.

The evening would not have been complete without a Golden Ticket. Winner Elise Ruby was the recipient of the grand prize of a trip for four to California, including airfare, a VIP tour of Warner Bros. Studios with lunch at the studio commissary, accommodations and a fun gift basket featuring numerous items from the movie Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Party-goers also had the opportunity to bid on a variety of special auction items, raising more than $27,000 for the event. The auction included a variety of items from the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Falcons, Buckhead Life, Dish Restaurant, Godiva, Good Eats, Jeanne's Body Tech, Lexington Chocolates, New York Prime Restaurant, The Shakespeare Tavern and many more fabulous restaurants and organizations.

Sponsors for Lost Oasis 2006 included Kristine & David Rudolph, Platinum Level; and Carter’s, Inc., Silver Level. Bronze Level sponsors include Alston + Bird LLP, Atlanta Magazine, CIBA Vision, Dow Chemical, EarthLink, Inc., EVE Partners, Georgian Bank, Hunton & Williams LLP, King & Spalding LLP, MEG Marketing, LLC, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, L.L.P., Premiere Global Services, Inc., Troutman Sanders LLP and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc.

In-kind sponsors included Carole Parks Catering, Concentrics Restaurants, Delta Air lines, NESTLE® and Shamrock Printing. Patron Party cuisine was provided courtesy of Chef William Neal Caterers.

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Lost Oasis: Search for the Golden Ticket. Copyright protected. Roald Dahl and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory—used with permission.