The Kirk Gibson Foundation for Parkinson's has tapped comedy duo Jason and Randy Sklar to host its second major gala, a black-tie fundraiser set for April 10, 2027, at Saint John's Resort in Plymouth Township. The event, dubbed Everybody vs. Parkinson's 2, runs from 5 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and will feature dinner, entertainment, auction opportunities, and stories from people impacted by the foundation's work. Individual tickets cost $500, with sponsorship packages also available.
The Sklar Brothers, identical twins and University of Michigan alumni from the class of 1994, built a three-decade career blending sports and comedy, including hosting ESPN Classic's cult favorite series Cheap Seats, according to Lifehacker. The pair grew up in St. Louis before honing their stand-up act while attending college in Ann Arbor. As reported by ClickOnDetroit, Jason and Randy Sklar will headline the gala as its emcees, with music from the Jerry Ross Band rounding out the entertainment lineup.
Proceeds from the gala will help the Kirk Gibson Foundation expand its work beyond Michigan, funding advocacy, research, expanded programming, and replication of the foundation's Parkinson's wellness-care model in other communities, per the same ClickOnDetroit report. Money raised will support expanded access to care, increased research funding, and efforts to advance public policy, along with fitness, education, and therapy programs for people currently living with Parkinson's. Some of the funding will also go toward research into how exercise, movement, nutrition, and therapeutic programming affect the disease and quality of life.
A Model Born in Farmington Hills
The centerpiece of that expansion strategy is the Kirk Gibson Center for Parkinson's Wellness, which opened in Farmington Hills in October 2025 after converting a former 32,000-square-foot automotive office building into what became the state's first standalone wellness center dedicated to the disease, according to ClickOnDetroit's coverage of the grand opening. The center offers free, evidence-based activity programs, including movement, education, wellness, and community offerings, and now serves as a model the foundation hopes to replicate elsewhere.
The Farmington Hills location was deliberately chosen to sit within a 30-minute drive of 70 percent of the population across Wayne, Oakland, and Macomb counties, putting it within reach of an estimated 8,000 Metro Detroit residents diagnosed with Parkinson's, according to WHMI. The site anticipated as many as 70,000 visits annually in its first full year of operation. That regional momentum continued in May, when the center received a $1 million grant from the Daniel J. Loepp Family Foundation to build a new 2,700-square-foot gym expanding free classes in Parkinson Wellness Recovery, tai chi, yoga, and dance, a gift Hoodline previously reported was donated in memory of Loepp's late father.
From a Broadcaster's Diagnosis to a Statewide Cause
Former Detroit Tigers star Kirk Gibson publicly revealed his own Parkinson's diagnosis in April 2015, after experiencing symptoms dating back to 2007, and founded his namesake foundation later that year to champion activity-based wellness care, according to MLB.com. Gibson was working as a television broadcast analyst at the time of his diagnosis. The foundation's first major gala, held in October 2019 at MotorCity Casino Hotel in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, raised more than $1.5 million for state Parkinson's research and care programs, with proceeds shared between the Kirk Gibson Foundation and the Michigan Parkinson Foundation, as detailed by Hour Detroit Magazine.
The 2027 gala will bring together business leaders, philanthropists, health care professionals, athletes, celebrities, advocates, and supporters, according to ClickOnDetroit's report. Michigan's role as a hub for this kind of specialized care isn't incidental: epidemiological research shows Parkinson's disease affects men at 1.5 times the rate of women and shows higher incidence rates in Rust Belt industrial states like Michigan compared to national averages, per the Parkinson's Foundation. Nationally, an estimated 1.1 million Americans currently live with Parkinson's, with nearly 90,000 new diagnoses made each year and total direct and indirect healthcare costs exceeding $82 billion annually.
A Venue Built on Giving
The gala's venue carries its own philanthropic pedigree. Saint John's Resort in Plymouth Township unveiled its 24,000-square-foot Monarch Ballroom in June 2025, the centerpiece of a $50 million transformation of a historic 1940s Catholic seminary into a luxury destination, according to Crain's Detroit Business. The ballroom features a 200-foot glass wall and can accommodate up to 1,500 guests. The resort operates under a Humanitarian Hotels model managed by the Pulte Family Charitable Foundation, donating 100 percent of its net operating profits to humanitarian and educational causes both globally and in Metro Detroit, spanning a 200-acre property that includes an 18-hole championship golf course.
Tickets and sponsorship information for Everybody vs. Parkinson's 2 are available through the Kirk Gibson Foundation's website, with organizers framing the event as a way to fund the foundation's broader mission of improving the lives of people living with Parkinson's disease. For a foundation that began with one broadcaster's diagnosis in 2015, the goal now is scale: turning a single Farmington Hills building into a template other communities can build from.
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