The Chi-Lites

The Chi-Lites



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Joseph “Joe” Jackson Kicks Off Fundraising For New

Jackson Cultural Center With Chicago Birthday Bash

Los Angeles, CA -- Jackson family patriarch and entertainment industry businessman

Joseph Jackson announced plans Tuesday for a dual birthday bash with Chi-Lites leader

Marshall Thompson in Chicago suburb Tinley Park on Saturday, August 22, 2009.

Best known as the father of Michael Jackson and founder of the Jackson Five, Jackson is

also known for his popular birthday celebrations each year. This year’s party will serve as

the debut fundraiser for a new cultural center Jackson plans to develop in his family

hometown of Gary, Indiana.

“I wanted to give back to the city of Gary,” says Jackson. “This is where it all started for us,

and we wanted to give them something that would create jobs and give visitors an

entertaining, educational place to stop and enjoy.”

The multi-functional center will be located at the corner of W 25th Avenue and Grant Street

in Gary, and will include a large hotel, restaurants, a memorabilia museum, a movie

theater, a performing arts theater and a recording studio. The five-acre parcel is located

close to Interstate 80, and sees traffic of more than 100,000 vehicles daily. Like Jackson,

the city hopes the center will give Gary - at one time a booming steel mill town - an

economic and cultural boost for residents and visitors alike.

Festivities for Jackson and Thompson’s birthday bash and fundraiser start at 6 p.m. on

Saturday, August 22 in Tinley Park. The event is sponsored by Mar-Ance Records, where

Marshall is founder and CEO, and BlueStar Technologies, Inc. founder and DVD pioneer

Erick Hansen. Prominent Chicago-area business owners Odie and Sharon Anderson will

host the event.

Jackson plans to host a number of other fundraising celebrations for the cultural center

throughout the summer. For more information on invitations contact Danny Hill, promotions

manager at Mar-Ance Records, at 732-207-0060 or by email at celebrateaug22@aol.com.



http://chi-lites.info/