Heart Association plans fund-raiser

Event to feature the Frankie Moreno Band

Want to help a good cause while enjoying some great music?

The American Heart Association is planning a Music for the Hearts fund-raiser concert tomorrow, from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in the main showroom of the Stratosphere.

On hand for the entertainment will be the Frankie Moreno Band, well known around the valley for its rocking songs and impressive keyboard solos. Moreno made a name for himself with an appearance on "Star Search," and has gone on to release CDs under his own label.

The band is currently appearing at the Fiesta in Henderson each weekend throughout the month. Moreno agreed to do the benefit concert, as well as line up other emerging local talent to play it.

Moreno said he wanted to be part of it because his family has been touched by heart disease. His niece was born with a heart defect and had to have open-heart surgery when she was only a few months old.

It was an event that "freaked her parents out," he recalled. His niece is now 12 and doing well.

"He wanted to give something to the community and help raise dollars for research and education at the same time," said Dixie Carroll, spokeswoman for the Heart Association. "The Stratosphere management was so impressed by Frankie's band they are offering their showroom free of charge for the benefit."

This is not the first time Moreno and his band has helped support the Heart Association. They were the entertainment for the 2003 Heart Walk held at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, this past fall. That event drew 5,000-plus participants and the crowd was so persuasive in encouraging him not to leave, the band ended up playing an extra 45 minutes.

This is the premier concert for the Music for the Hearts. The Heart Association said it plans to make it an annual event.

The Stratosphere showroom holds 650 people and if it sells out, Moreno offered to do a second show. No details were available on that at press time.

Heart disease is America's No. 1 killer, (stroke is No. 3). In Nevada, heart disease kills at a rate of 257.1 per 100,000 persons, according to the latest figures (2000) from the Henry Kaiser Family Foundation.

The American Heart Association is hoping to raise $10,000 to help fund research and education. The event also helps kick off February, which marks the official beginning of Go Red for Women, a national campaign aimed at educating women about heart health in an effort to decrease the number of women who succumb to heart disease.

Tickets are $37.50 per person. For more information, call 367-1366 or visit www.musicforthehearts.com.


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