Gladys Knight to Headline Dana’s Angels Gala and Benefit Concert

Seven-time Grammy Award winner Gladys Knight will headline the annual Dana’s Angels Research Trust (DART) Gala benefit and concert. The event is set for Saturday, May 30, at the Palace Theatre in Stamford.

The Gala, once again hosted by Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford, will kick off with an elegant cocktail reception, featuring a pasta bar by World-Famous RAO’s Italian Restaurant, with silent and live auctions.

Gala Reception and Concert tickets will be available by invitation and online at www.DanasAngels.org.

Concert-only tickets start at $50 and are available to the public through the Stamford Center for the Arts Box Office at www.PalaceStamford.org or by calling (203) 325-4466. All proceeds benefit DART.

This is DART’s 13th year as a non-profit focused on Niemann-Pick type C disease research. Throughout, DART has had the support of performers including Kenny Loggins, The Beach Boys, Frankie Valli, Natalie Cole, Smokey Robinson, America, Richard Dreyfuss and Rob Mathes, who have all performed at the DART gala benefits.

Kathie Lee and Frank Gifford are also long-time supporters of DART, hosting each annual benefit. Past supporters and attendees at DART’s annual fundraisers include Joy and Regis Philbin, Cheryl and Ron Howard, Martin Scorsese, Sonny Grosso, Phil Ramone, Richard LaGravenese, Florence Henderson, Chynna Phillips and Billy Baldwin.

This year’s Honorary Co-Chairs are award-winning singer/song writer Kenny Loggins and Michelle Phillips of The Mamas and The Papas fame.

Scott Shannon of WCBS-FM’s morning “Big Show” will introduce Gladys Knight.

DART’s Guardian Angel Award recipient is Dr. Gregory Crawford, Dean of the College of Sciences at the University of Notre Dame.

Gladys Knight is one of soul’s most decorated musicians. Over the last 50 years Gladys Knight has won numerous awards including seven Grammy’s and has earned number one hits in pop, R&B and adult contemporary. She has triumphed in film, television and live performances.

“DART is thrilled to have the Empress of Soul, Gladys Knight, headline this year’s Gala Benefit and concert,” said Phil and Andrea Marella, founders of DART.

The Marellas said that their fourth drug trial launched at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) late last year, and their third and most promising drug trial, also at the NIH, should enter its final phase this summer with the addition of pharmaceutical company Vtesse to the team working on Cyclodextrin as a treatment for NPC.”

Dana’s Angels Research Trust is a non-profit organization that funds research into a rare disease, Niemann-Pick type C (NPC), a fatal, cholesterol storage disease affecting children.

Two of the Marella’s four children, Dana and Andrew, were afflicted by NPC. Most children who suffer from NPC die in their early teens, but DART has helped change that fate. As an all-volunteer organization, over 95% of the funds expended are channeled directly into supporting pivotal NPC research; research that may also help millions of people suffering from HIV/Aids, heart disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders that appear to be related to cholesterol.

Dana’s Angels Research Trust is a non-profit organization that funds research into a raredisease, Niemann-Pick type C (NPC), a fatal, cholesterol storage disease affecting children. Two of the Marella’s four children, Dana and Andrew, were afflicted by NPC. Sadly, the Marella’s daughter, Dana, 19, passed away in the Summer of 2013.

To date, DART has raised $3.5 million toward the search for a cure for NPC. DART is particularly proud of its commitment as a founding member of a unique, collaborative drug development program called SOAR-NPC or Support Of Accelerated Research. Working with other NPC families and research institutions, SOAR’s collaborators have three drug trials already to their credit.