Transcript Staff

Area residents are dusting off their denim and shining up their boots for the fifth annual Ranch Baron's Ball, an event with a Western flair that will benefit the American Cancer Society.

The ball, scheduled tonight at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, will include dinner, live entertainment with Justin Fox and the Outlaw Country, live and silent auctions, raffles, dance lessons, stick-horse racing, a Cowboy Casino and more. Tickets are $125 per person and must be purchased in advance. Call 841-5815 for tickets and event information.

The Ranch Baron's Ball live auction will feature an opportunity for patrons to bid on the "Tree of Life," decorated with a variety of ornaments hand-painted by campers at the American Cancer Society Camp Live-A-Dream. The campers-turned-artists are young cancer survivors -- children who have been diagnosed with cancer at some time during their youth. The Tree of Life is symbolic of the hope for a future without cancer.

The evening also will include the annual Pony Preakness stick-horse races and the opportunity to participate in two-step dancing lessons. The Cowboy Casino will also be open all night for those guests who prefer cards and dice to ponies or dancing. A variety of midway games will offer additional entertainment, as well.

Underwriters, donors and sponsors include AT--T Oklahoma, Bank of America, Bank of Oklahoma, Crowe -- Dunlevy, Devon Energy, Gardner Tanenbaum Group, Integris Health, JP Morgan Chase, Norman Regional Hospital, OKC Freightliner Western Star, The Oklahoman Foundation, OU Medical Center, OU Physicians, Renda Broadcasting, United Engines LLC, VistaCare, and W--W Steel Co.