Wizard of Oz party

The second annual Secret Garden Party sponsored by The Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature will be held Sunday, May 16, from 3 to 5 p.m. For the event, the garden of a Fresno residence will be temporarily transformed into the Land of Oz. The party location is a secret that will be revealed shortly before participants' trip to "Oz."

Proceeds from the party will support the purchase of a major Lewis Carroll collection for the Arne Nixon Center .

The idea to hold an annual Secret Garden Party to benefit the center originated with fundraising for a 2003 international conference on the life and work of Frances Hodgson Burnett, the author of "The Little Princess" and "The Secret Garden." Last year, 21 sponsors contributed $1,000 each to make the first event a success.

The Lewis Carroll collection of more than 2,000 books and other materials is priced at $150,000, of which the first $100,000 already has been raised. The remaining $50,000 must be raised in time to exhibit the collection for the Lewis Carroll Society of North America, which will hold its fall 2004 meeting in Fresno .

This internationally important collection emphasizes illustrators. It includes a rare numbered portfolio edition by Salvador Dali and the story board for the Paramount 1933 " Alice in Wonderland" with 642 little-known illustrations by William Cameron Menzies, who won an Academy Award for this screenplay.

Underwriters, either businesses or individuals, are sought. Underwriters receive free tickets to the party. In addition, gifts will be acknowledged at the party and in the Center's Magic Mirror newsletter. Individual tickets may be purchased for $50.

To request an invitation or volunteer as an underwriter, or to receive additional information, call 8-5790 or e-mail kelliew@csufresno.edu.