Leukemia Society Fund Raiser For Marlana Draws A Crowd At The Palms

By Gary Nager

It was a great night for Peabody’s Palms Lounge in Tampa Palms, and an amazing feeling that still lingers today, as the Deacon Blues Band performed for nearly three hours at a Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Tampa Bay fund raiser in honor of Marlana Lacivita, the Busch Gardens dance captain who refuses to let her own year-long battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma keep her from dancing — or enjoying an amazing evening with great friends, some of whom she had never met before the event on Sept. 28.

Organized by my friend and Deacon Blues keyboard player Bernie Desrosiers, the Leukemia Society fund raiser in honor of Marlana was attended by nearly 200 people, who each gladly made a $5 donation to hear and see one of the New Tampa area’s most beloved local bands.

The highlight of the evening was surely the appearance of Marlana herself, as well as event co-organizer Shari Torres (Rae) and several other of Marlana and Shari’s fellow performers from Busch Gardens, all of whom joined her on the dance floor for a great line dance as the Deacon Blues played the Georgia Satellites hit, “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.”

Another Busch Gardens performer, Desrosiers’ daughter Nicole, joined the Deacon Blues onstage for the Aretha Franklin/ Carole King hit, “You Make Me Feel Like a Natural Woman” and the entire evening left everyone in attendance with a warm feeling. The band also kept the house rockin’ with favorites like “Mustang Sally,” “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Johnny B. Goode” and “Sweet Home Chicago.”

“I can’t thank you all enough for coming,” Marlana said, holding back tears. “This is just so awesome.”

Although there are still some unnamed corporate sponsors whose donations for the evening hadn’t been received at our press time, Desrosiers estimates that at least $5,000 was raised at the event, all of which will be donated to help the local Lukemia & Lymphoma Society chapter lead the battle against blood-borne cancers.

Our friends (and Shoppes of Amberly plaza neighbors) at Peabody’s were thrilled with the packed room and promised to bring the Deacon Blues back — and host other bands and events at The Palms Lounge.

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For info about Peabody’s (15333 Amberly Dr.), call 972-1725 or visit PeabodysBilliards.com. For donations to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Tampa Bay in honor of Marlana, visit pages.teamintraining. org/sun/StPeteHf13/storresg0s.