Friday, May 08, 2009
Special to suffredin.org

The Skokie Theatre will honor wounded and disabled veterans with a free concert and lunch Wednesday, May 20, in the first of a series of performances designed to thank deserving individuals for their service to the community and the nation.

“Come to the Cabaret,” a show featuring vocalist Heather Moran, will be performed at  1:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 20, at the Skokie Theatre, 7924 N. Lincoln Ave., Skokie. The show is open to the public and tickets are $10 each.

Twenty-five veterans from Edward J. Hines Veterans Hospital, Hines, Ill., will be guests of the theater and will also have lunch at a nearby Skokie restaurant.

Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin (D-Evanston) of the 13^th District will present Silver Star Banners to six other veterans in attendence who were wounded while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces during hostilities in Korea, Vietnam and Iraq.

Silver Star Banners are supplied by the Silver Star Families of America, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization committed to supporting wounded veterans of wars past and present, and to honoring their service.

The event is being coordinated by Richard Morbidoni, superintendent of veterans affairs for Cook County, and lunch for the honored veterans is being paid for by the Veterans Assistance Commission of Cook County.

According to Al Curtis, associate director of the Skokie Theatre, this tribute is the first in a series of charitable events to honor and thank certain individuals for community service. The Skokie Theatre Music Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting the arts and enriching the community’s culture, also is interested in showing appreciation for those who helped make the community and the nation great.

The Foundation will be accepting donations to sponsor similar events in upcoming weeks to honor other deserving groups, Curtis said.

For more information, or to order tickets, call the Skokie Theatre at 847-677-7761 or visit the website at www.skokietheatre.com.