Celebrate Spring — an evening with Maurice LoMonaco
A local Relay for Life team is raising funds for the American Cancer Society with a concert.
Hosted by Team Friends, An Evening with Maurice LoMonaco – “Celebrate Spring” – will take place Thursday starting at 7 p.m. at Faith Presbyterian Church; the doors will open at 6 p.m. There will be a wine and cheese reception, meet-and-greet and silent auction, along with the performance.
“What it does is it brings awareness to the American Cancer Society and it brings awareness to the Relay for Life, which is their biggest fundraiser,” Linda Biondi, captain of Team Friends, said.
“We have a nice cultural evening, we have a little fun and we raise money,” she added.
Organizers are expecting to sell about 125 to 150 tickets for the concert.
“We had a few more last year,” Biondi said on Thursday.
Born in Palermo, Italy, LoMonaco came to the United States at the age of 10. He is a classically influenced singer and songwriter with a repertoire of over a thousand songs in five languages.
Biondi explained that LoMonaco is a tenor.
“He does a little bit of everything,” she said, noting that he does traditional Italian music, Broadway, classics, pop and even originals. “Every once in a while, he might throw in a little ’50s music.”
“He’s very versatile,” Biondi added.
Deborah Marino, a soprano, and pianist David Lahm will accompany him.
“He’s got a pretty good following,” she said of LoMonaco.
From 6 to 7 p.m., the wine and cheese reception will take place.
“It’s like an hor d’oeuvres kind of reception,” Biondi said.
The performance will begin at 7 p.m.
Beforehand, attendees can place bids on the items available in the silent auction.
“There’s a beautiful floral painting, there’s a really nice watch from Zak’s Jewelry,” she said.
Other items are brass candlesticks, a decorative lamp and gifts baskets for dog grooming services, along with gift certificates to local restaurants and John Michaels Diamond and Jewelry Studio.
“It’s a nice little array of things,” Biondi said.
During the performance’s intermission, the auction winners will be named.
The tickets for the concert are $25 per person.
To buy tickets, contact Raso Realty at 239-542-2254 or stop by the office at 4812 Cape Coral St. People interested in buying tickets can also contact Biondi directly at 239-246-1157.
She added that some tickets will be available at the door.
“We’ll have them there, too,” Biondi said.
She noted that the American Cancer Society does a lot more than what people may think, such as providing cancer patients with wigs and transportation to and from their treatments if needed.
“Each one of us that’s on our team has had cancer, has had a relative with cancer, has had a friend with cancer,” Biondi said, adding that most of the money raised at the Cape’s Relay for Life stays local.
Organizers encouraged the public to come out for the concert.
“It brings a couple hundred people together to enjoy a good evening,” she said.
Faith Presbyterian Church is at 4544 Coronado Parkway.