Once a year, The Heartland Institute invites its supporters, allies, and friends to attend a dinner event in Chicago that is genuinely fun. Last year more than 600 people attended!

The venue—the beautiful Grand Ballroom in the historic Chicago Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue in downtown Chicago—is world-class. The food and speakers are great, and the audience is large and diverse—but not so big you feel shoe-horned into a hotel ballroom. We start early, with dinner served at 6:30 p.m., and we adjourn the formal program by 9:15 p.m.

Heartland’s anniversary dinners have become one of the country’s biggest annual celebrations of freedom. People come from all parts of the country to see old friends and make new ones. This year’s program, featuring two outstanding speakers, is sure to attract a record crowd.

Restoring Freedom at Home

The theme for this year's anniversary benefit is "restoring freedom at home."

The phrase "at home" is significant in 2005 because in George W. Bush we have a president who speaks often of freedom ("freedom," "free," and "liberty" appeared some 48 times in his second inaugural address), but mostly in the context of bringing freedom to the oppressed citizens of other countries, rather than here at home. And we say "restoring" to remind people that freedom is our inheritance as Americans, and we are fighting to regain what is rightfully ours.

This year we will again be having a live auction of limited-edition banners featuring dramatic images of notable advocates of freedom. Having offered the founding fathers in past years, we plan to honor Friedrich Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Booker T. Washington this year.

The beautiful 3' x 6' portraits are designed by Heartland’s own graphic arts department and are original creations. The large size of the banners makes them ideal as gifts to schools, universities, libraries, or fraternities and sororities, or to display at work in an office or conference room.

David Padden (right), founder and chairman emeritus of Heartland’s Board of Directors, has agreed to be this year’s auctioneer. Dave’s auctioneering talents are legendary for their high energy and pure entertainment value. Dave will have us laughing and digging deep into our pockets! In past years, portraits of Thomas Jefferson, Adam Smith, John Jay, and others have gone for anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars. I hope you’ll consider making a bid on one or more of these impressive pieces of art!

As always happens at Heartland events, some of the best conversations will take place at your table! Each year Heartland invites the heads of other think tanks and advocacy groups to attend its benefit for free, and nearly 30 have already said they plan to attend this years event! These leading spokespersons for free-markets and limited government will be seated at openings in reserved tables (with your permission) or assigned to open seating. So be prepared to have dinner with the head of one of your favorite think tanks!