Gifts, parties and celebs: L.A. readies for Oscars

Gifts, parties and celebs: L.A. readies for Oscars
LOS ANGELES – Hollywood is in full-on Oscar mode.

The red carpet has been laid out in front of the Kodak Theatre, topped with a plastic sheet in case of rain. Traffic is snarled. Tourists are flocking to Hollywood & Highland to see a bit of the Academy Awards preparations and snap photos of themselves with giant Oscar statues.

The theater itself buzzes with activity, as rehearsals continue from morning until night, with the occasional celebrity quietly stepping in to practice presenting the coveted golden guy.

It's Oscar week, and Tinseltown is all aflutter. Here's the latest:

GETTING CREATIVE: Dana Delany, Kathy Najimy, Ty Burrell and Rachael Leigh Cook were among the celebrities who recorded public service announcements for the Creative Coalition Friday at Haven 360, an Oscar-week suite comprising gifting, parties and support for the arts.

Creative Coalition co-president Tim Daly is directing the public service announcements, which show stars singing the ABC's, as part of the organization's lobbying efforts to increase funding for arts education in public schools.

The videos will be presented at the Creative Coalition's Arts Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. next month, along with a companion book, "Art & Soul," that features portraits of actors and their handwritten messages about what art means to them, Daly said.

"This is about keeping the arts in education," he said. "Kids learn their letters by singing. The arts make learning interesting and fun."

Haven 360 guests were also treated to hand massages from Olay, gifted with Elle jewelry and invited to peruse Backstage Creation's "celebrity retreat," where they could pick up a free $5,000 trip to Moorea, Botox and Juvederm treatments worth $900 from celebrity surgeon Dr. Frank Ryan, and luxury luggage from Dooney & Bourke.