Our sincerest thanks to Mike Cramer and Harlene Ellin, who made the Oak Park premiere of Mike's film, Dear Mr. Fidrych, a benefit for the Oak Park Education Foundation. The event was a sell-out and a wonderful evening. Thanks also to Classic Cinemas' Lake Theatre, the village of Oak Park's ArtRageous festival, and ABC 7 Chicago sports director Mark Giangreco for donating one of the exciting raffle prizes -- a personalized backstage tour of ABC 7 news.

Giangreco, who had a role in the film, promoted it (and OPEF) on his sportscast. Click here to see the clip!

Dear Mr. Fidrych was shot largely in Oak Park and River Forest and features numerous Oak Parkers as principal cast members, Chicago talent including Rob Belushi, ABC's Mark Giangreco, and the Score's Mike Mulligan, plus probably a hundred Oak Parkers who served as extras or otherwise contributed to the production of the film over the last three years. The movie premiered to a sold-out 480-seat auditorium at the Detroit Windsor International Film Festival in June, where it won the Best Director award. You can check out the trailer, more photos and other info at www.dearmrfidrych.com, and learn more at the Dear Mr. Fidrych fan page on Facebook. Although it appeals to adults who like independent film, Dear Mr. Fidrych is entirely family friendly, and features lots of Oak Park kids in key roles.

Thanks to everyone who attended and supported the Oak Park Education Foundation!

  Many thanks to Mike Cramer and Harlene Ellin, who donated the proceeds from the Oak Park premiere of Mike's award-winning film, "Dear Mr. Fidrych," to the Oak Park Education Foundation. For more on this heart-warming film about baseball and childhood dreams, click here.