The "Bowl For Ronnie" celebrity bowling party returns on Thursday, November 12, 2026, back at PINZ Bowling Center in Studio City, California, and hosted once again by Eddie Trunk of SiriusXM's Faction Talk. It is the annual fundraiser for the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, and last year's edition sold out well ahead of the date and cleared more than $85,000 in one night.
The format has not changed, because it works: a celebrity bowling tournament, a raffle for prizes and memorabilia, and an evening that starts at 6:30 p.m. with open bowling and a VIP pre-party for lane sponsors and artists. Past years have pulled in Geezer Butler, John Bush and Joey Vera of ARMORED SAINT, Phil Demmel of VIO-LENCE and MACHINE HEAD, Lita Ford and Shavo Odadjian of SYSTEM OF A DOWN, among a longer list that stretches well outside metal. This year's bowlers will be announced shortly, along with an eBay auction for a seat on Trunk's own team.
Lane sponsorships and spectator tickets are on sale now. An "Early Bird" team or corporate lane sponsorship runs $2,500 until October 15 and $3,000 after that, covering a private lane for six bowlers, logo placement on the lane and on screens throughout the venue, six VIP passes to the artist lounge, two drink tickets per bowler, shirts, pizza and shoe rental. A limited number of spectator tickets are available at $75.
The charity behind it was founded in memory of the singer, who died of gastric cancer in 2010. A privately funded 501(c)(3), the Dio Cancer Fund has raised more than $2 million since it began. That money has gone to the T.J. Martell Foundation, to the gastric cancer research unit at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston — where Ronnie James Dio was treated during the last six months of his life — and, since 2016, to Dr. David Wong and his team at the UCLA School of Dentistry, who are working on a non-invasive saliva test for early cancer detection.
That last project is the one worth understanding, because it is the whole argument for the bowling night. Gastric cancer is lethal largely because it is usually found late. A cheap saliva test that catches it early would be the difference between the diagnosis Dio got and one somebody survives.
One hundred percent of the net proceeds from "Bowl For Ronnie" go to the fund, now in its sixteenth year. The organization also runs "Rock For Ronnie", its annual concert in the park, next scheduled for Sunday, May 23, 2027.
More information is at diocancerfund.org.