Huge Success for Nashville’s Premier Charity Event Annual Waiting for Wishes Celebrity Waiters Dinner

Rascal Flatts’ Jay DeMarcus and Kevin Carter Held their Annual Celebrity Waiters Dinner
and Official After-Party “Jammin’ with Jay DeMarcus & Friends” on Tuesday night

NASHVILLE, TN –  Jay DeMarcus of Rascal Flatts and co-host, NFL veteran and Super Bowl Champion, Kevin Carter held their 17^th Annual Waiting for Wishes Celebrity Waiters Dinner at The Palm Restaurant on Tuesday, April 24, 2018. The sold-out event raised an estimated $150,000 for The Kevin Carter Foundation and Make-A-Wish^® Middle Tennessee. The event has become Nashville’s premier celebrity event, making national news, raising more than $2.2 million for charity since its inception in 2002.

The sold-out celebrity event was an exclusive, VIP evening where Carter and DeMarcus invited an eclectic mix of celebrities from all over the country to take over The Palm as servers before they headed over to Whiskey Row for the Official After-Party – Jammin’ with Jay DeMarcus & Friends.   The event, presented by The Campbell Family Foundation and HCA, continues to be one of the most unique celebrity events in the country and is considered a “must attend” event for patrons and participants alike. Nearly fifty celebrities joined in to wait tables, sign autographs and perform at the after-party.

This year’s cast of unexpected celebrities included Fox News Channel’s Dana Perino and Jesse Watters, the Chrisley Family from USA Network Chrisley Knows Best as well as sports icons like U.S. Olympians Matt Hamilton (Curlers), Kendall Coyne and Lee Stecklein (Women’s Hockey) and Lloyd Eisler (Ice Skating), NFL stars Jared Allen, Cris Collinsworth and Marcus Mariota, UFC/MMA Champions Randy Couture and Tito Ortiz as well as music stars like Hunter Hayes just to name a few.

In 2012 “Waiting for Wishes” expanded to include an Official After-Party – “Jammin’ with Jay DeMarcus & Friends.” The informal jam session is an opportunity to create incredible “Only in Nashville” type moments on stage with SiriusXM’s Storme Warren serving as emcee.  This year was no different as a unique group of musicians jumped on stage with Jay DeMarcus to include band member Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts), Tommy Thayer (KISS), Jason Scheff (Chicago), Jason Fitz (formerly with The Band Perry) and country artists Halfway to Hazard and Jillian Cardarelli.

“I am again so grateful to be able to continue to host this event in Nashville,” said Kevin Carter. “I’m thankful to my co-host Jay DeMarcus and the unbelievable celebrities that show up to wait tables for our patrons each year. I am humbled when I think about how many wishes we’ve been able to grant for children with life-threatening illnesses through our fundraising efforts and this event for the past sixteen years and now adding more funds to continue to provide hope.”

The event is sponsored by The Campbell Family Foundation, HCA, The Band Foundation, Aon, PAR, Tennessee Titans, The Hilton Downtown Nashville, Empire Distributors, DET Distributing, Donatos Pizza, Trattoria IL Mulino, Nashville Lifestyles, RJ Young, The Palm, Matchless Transportation, Whiskey Row, Ego Design, Lipman, Jewelbox and Tito’s Vodka.

Celebrity Lineup from Tuesday’s event: