Italian singer to headline fundraiser
Jim Pesoli of Arlington Heights has beaten the odds as a cancer survivor a startling four times. Each new lease on life, he says, has strengthened his resolve to live each day to the fullest -- and well, just plain go for it.
Next month, he plans to do just that, holding the first large-scale benefit fundraising concert for his foundation, Kids Fight Cancer.
For more than 20 years, the Arlington Heights businessman has put his own money on the line to host golf outings, walk-a-thons and an annual dinner dance, all to raise money for the oncology playroom at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
Now comes his biggest risk to date -- Pesoli has booked the 4,400-seat Rosemont Theatre to feature a relatively unknown European singing sensation, Patrizio Buanne, with an opening act by singer Matt Dusk.
The concert takes place at 8 p.m. April 26. Tickets range from $55-$150, and may be obtained through Ticketmaster, at www.ticketmaster.com.
What's more, Pesoli has booked the theater's 30-piece house orchestra, and plans to hold a pre-concert and post-concert reception for VIP guests.
He also purchased a two-page, four-color ad in a local Italian-American newspaper, dropped a 44,000-piece mailing and printed up posters, all to draw attention to the benefit concert, which he calls, "A Difference Begins Tonight."
"I'm usually a rock 'n' roll guy," says Pesoli, who was first diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease at the age of 19, in 1975. "But Buanne's approach to traditional Italian music made me feel good -- it made me proud to be Italian."
As of last week, Pesoli's son, Jim Pesoli Jr., says they have sold more than 2,000 tickets, including requests from fans as far away as South Africa and London, and from across the country.
"His vocals and swagger remind you of a young Frank Sinatra," the younger Pesoli says. "And then his own father died of cancer, so that drew him to the cause."
Buanne's rare Chicago appearance has drawn a request from WGN-TV officials for him to perform on their News at Noon show on April 11, while Allison Rosatti, NBC 5 anchor, has signed on to be the evening's emcee.
For more information on Pesoli and his foundation, visit www.kidsfightcancer.org.