Come on Out to Concert for a Cure!

Editor's note: Geneva Patch Editor Rick Nagel will be reporting live Saturday from the Concert for a Cure. Be sure to stop by, say hello, and check out Geneva Patch for follow-up stories and photos.

If you attend one fundraiser this year, there's a good argument it should be this one.

The Paul Ruby Concert for a Cure is an eight-hour musicpalooza with a million-and-one family-friendly things to do while the bands play on.

But it's not just the fun that should bring you to Tanna Farms between the hours of 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28. You might also want to be there for the community and the cause.

A Parkinson's patient himself, Ruby, his friends, and his supporters started Concert for a Cure in 2007.  This year is the fourth annual concert.

Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for anyone under 21. They can be purchased online using VISA, MasterCard, AMEX, or Discover and will be printed from the site.  Tickets also can be purchased in person at Kiss the Sky, 301 W. State St., and Fagans, 524 W. State St.

The acts scheduled to perform include The Antennas, Nashville; HOSS, Chicago, The Michael Heaton Band, Chicago; Dave Ramont & Friends, Chicago; Gallery, Chicago; The Future Burns, Chicago; Noah Gabriel (and band), Chicago; Greg Boerner, Chicago; The Wandering Endorphin, Chicago; Gabe Perez, Chicago; Hix Bros. Junior All-Stars, Chicago; The Dallas Motorcade, Chicago

Doors open at 1 p.m., and the first band takes the stage at 2 p.m.  The eight-hour, nonstop music celebration is produced by Rank Entertainment and WXRT's Richard Milne. Lisa Dent, morning co-host at US-99, America's Country Station, emcees the event.

The event includes kid-friendly activities such as a moon jump and face painting. Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns acts as auctioneer for the live auction, and many local businesses will provide items for a silent auction.  

Other major sponsors of the 2010 concert include Markham Vineyards, The Shodeen Family Foundation, PositionTech, Teva Neuroscience, Thomas and Nancy Cantwell, Cerwick Family Foundation, Power Pax, Habitat Corporate Suites, Lisa Dent, The Firm Foundation Construction Co., and the Geneva Film Festival.

Paul Ruby, a resident of Mill Creek and the general manager of the Herrington Inn and Spa, was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in July 2006.

The foundation was started shortly after Ruby's oldest son, Wes, read a news story about then-President Bush's veto of stem cell research, which was touted as a having the best chance at cure for Parkinson's. Wes ended the letter by saying, "All I want to do, Mr. President, is to be able to play catch with my dad."

Ruby launched the foundation in 2007, and it has raised about $200,000 in three years, the foundation said. The money goes toward funding research projects at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Clinic.

Burns and the City Council have proclaimed August as Parkinson's Disease Awareness Month.

Burns applauded Ruby for treating the disease as "just a hiccup in his life" and for Ruby's enterprise in creating the foundation, 501(c)(3) non-profit, tax-exempt organization designated by the Internal Revenue Code.

"He's a go-getter," Burns said. "When he decides to do something, he does it."

When the proclamation was passed, the City Council saw the video "In His Own Words," created by recent Geneva Community High School graduate Erika Simpson, who is also the recipient of the inaugural Paul Ruby Foundation Scholarship. The scholarship is available to high school seniors who make a difference by raising awareness of Parkinson's, or who raise money to help fund Parkinson's research.

The video is show here and can be seen at www.paulrubyfoundation.org. 

Ruby said the event wouldn't be possible without hundreds of volunteers.

"We live in a town where, when one person is in need, everyone comes out to help," he said.