Nationally recognized Comedian Michael Palascak brings more fun to the stage when he returns to Fort Myers on July 23 to perform at the second annual “Laughter Is the Best Medicine Comedy Night” to benefit SalusCare, Inc.
Tickets are on sale for the event at Sanibel Harbour Marriott Resort & Spa and may be purchased at www.saluscarecomedynight.org or by calling 239-791-1575. Tickets include heavy hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine. Seats at tables are $125 each or $500 for a reserved table for four, with table signage. A limited number of seats without tables are available at $100 each. Other sponsorships are available from $1,000.
Palascak rounds out the evening that also includes stand-up comedy by eight local celebrities, competing for the title of “Lee County’s Best Comic” for 2016. Attendees will have the opportunity to “vote” for “Lee County’s Best Comic” by placing cash or checks in containers labeled for each comic.
Last year’s inaugural “Laughter Is the Best Medicine Comedy Night” was won by former Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Molloy. SalusCare Development Committee Chair Mark Atkins said the local celebrity comedic line-up will be announced in mid-April.
“We are delighted that Michael is willing to come to Fort Myers for a repeat performance at our second annual Comedy Night. He has family in the area and agreed to come pro-bono to support our cause of helping children with mental illness and substance use disorders,” Atkins said.
Palascak delighted television audiences last season as one of five finalists on NBC’s Last Comic Standing. In the last four years, he has appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. He also has performed at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas and was the winner of HBO’s Lucky 21 Stand-up Contest.
He won the Chicago region of Comedy Central’s Open Mic Fight and went on to make his Comedy Central debut on Live at Gotham Season 3. He was one of 12 comedians in America to debut his half-hour special on the inaugural season of Comedy Central’s The Half Hour.
Funds raised at the event will be used to provide outpatient psychiatry and therapy to children and adolescents in our area whose families can least afford it. One in 10 children has serious mental health problems severe enough to impair how they function at home, in school, or in the community, according to the National Center for Children & Poverty at Columbia University. Left untreated, mental illnesses can lead to more difficult to treat illnesses and to the development of co-occurring disorders.
For more information about sponsorships and “Laughter Is the Best Medicine Comedy Night,” contact Todd Cordisco at (239) 791-1575 or visit www.saluscarecomedynight.org .
