Harlem Wizards to return to Riverhead Nov. 19

The Harlem Wizards are returning to Riverhead this fall.

The Wizards will perform at Riverhead High School Nov. 19, event producer Riverhead Central Faculty Association announced. The razzle-dazzle basketball team played to a packed house last year, taking on a team put together by RCFA.

RCFA is seeking business sponsors to help defray the costs of the show, a fundraiser for the organization’s scholarship fund.

With more than 1,100 spectators expected again this year, sponsorship is a great opportunity for local businesses to market themselves in the community, organizers said.

The highest level sponsorship, called the Slam Dunk, has been claimed by Stacy Braun and Associates. RiverheadLOCAL is the media sponsor for the event.

Three additional levels of sponsorship remain:

Three Point, $500 – logo and website link on ticket sale website, half-page advertisement in program, two announcements at event, logo on team shirts,logo displayed in gymnasium;

Rebound, $250 – logo and website link on ticket sale website; quarter-page advertisement in event program, one announcement at event, logo displayed at souvenir stand; and

Sixth Man, $100 – business card advertisement in event program and one announcement at the event.

Interested parties should contact RCFA treasurer Gregory Wallace at rcfascholarshipfund@gmail.com.

All remaining sponsorships include an advertisement in the program, which is handed out to all spectators and an announcement or announcements over the personal address system to the crowd during the event itself. Tier 2 and 3 sponsorships include larger advertisements in the program and displays of sponsor logos on promotional materials throughout the event.

“More than half of last year’s sponsors have already committed again to 2014, and I’ve just begun outreach,” Wallace said. “This is a great testimony to the value the Harlem Wizards offers its event sponsor and the value local businesspeople get from helping the RCFA Scholarship Fund.”

Wallace said that he hopes to attract new sponsors, as well.

“I think anyone who saw the energy in the gym last year knows how wonderful this is for our community,” he added. “Any business that wants the attention and goodwill of the people of Riverhead has something to gain by participating with a sponsorship.”

In the meantime, a limited number of tickets are available in pre-sales via the district’s parent-teacher-school organizations and at individual schools’ Open House events. Ticket sales officially open on Oct. 15 online at www.harlemwizards.com and locally at both Duffy’s Deli locations. Tickets are $10/students and $12/general admission in advance and $12/students and $15/general admission at the door, if available. Twenty-five courtside tickets will be available for $25, and those include a meet-and-greet with the team before the game.