The Harlem Wizards will be making a return visit to Riverhead on Nov. 8, where they will take on the Riverhead High School faculty and staff for the sixth time in a night of basketball showmanship, comedy and entertainment for the entire family.
The event is a yearly tradition that always packs the Riverhead High School gym. It not only brings laughs to an awed audience, it also raises money for a good cause.
Event coordinator Greg Wallace, a high school physics teacher and Riverhead Central Faculty Association treasurer, said the event has raised more than $75,000 for the RCFA’s scholarship fund since 2013.
“We have had a tremendous support from the community for this event. We have had a full house each year,” he said.
Wallace said all the money raised goes to the students of Riverhead in the form of scholarships to graduating seniors. The organization also awards scholarships for elementary school students to attend East End Arts summer camps.
In order to defray costs for the event, the RCFA solicits local businesses to sponsor the evening.
The highest level sponsorship, called the Slam Dunk has been claimed by Peconic Monument Works.
RiverheadLOCAL is the media sponsor.
Additional sponsors for this event are Duffy’s Deli, Saf-T-Swim, Beth Hanlon Allstate Agency, Hotel Indigo, Riverhead Building Supply, Riverhead Administrators Association, Mirkin & Gordon, Bridgehampton National Bank, Gibeser & Gibeser CPA and Apple Honda of Riverhead.
Additional sponsorships opportunities are still available, Wallace said. (Interested parties click here to email the RCFA.)
The event also looks to raise awareness about bullying.
At several assemblies Wednesday in schools across the district, Harlem Wizards players invited everyone to come the event and then talked to the kids about bullying.
At Phillips Avenue Elementary School, Patric “The Artist” Massey—a Harlem Wizard for the last two years and a professional basketball player for the last seven— told students and staff about his own experience, when he was bullied in elementary school and then in high school.
He said he grew up on a single-parent household and he “didn’t have the nicest things” and usually had to wear hand-me-downs from his sister, for which he got bullied.
After being depressed and seeing a doctor in middle school, he said one day the school principal told him something that has stuck with him to this day: “I know you are going through a hard time, but you have to turn those negative things into something positive.”
Massey said the school became a safe place after he told the principal about his experience and he was able to feel proud about himself and confront his bullies without anger.
“Don’t let bullies put you down,” he told students. “The school is your home too, tell somebody, put a smile on your face and turn a negative into a positive.”
Phillips Avenue School principal Debra Rogers said that the RCFA does a great job with the Harlem Wizards event every year by giving the students the opportunity to hear a message about anti-bullying in a fun way.
She said that that message will be followed up in the classrooms, where teachers will help kids to understand what to do to support kids that are being bullied and also stop bullying.
“It’s more important now than ever to teach kids to respect one another and value the differences in one another,” she said.
Ticket sales for the evening are officially underway. Doors open for the event at 6 p.m. and tip-off is at 7 p.m.
Tickets are priced at tier level costs with court-side, reserved or general admission seats available.
General admission tickets are available locally at Duffy’s Deli in Jamesport and Riverhead Safe-T-Swim or through the district’s PTO groups.
Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door if still available. Student ticket price is $10.
Reserved and court-side seating will be sold exclusively online and are $20 and $40 respectively. Court-side seating includes a meet-and-greet with the Wizards prior to the game. Reserved tickets include preferential seating as well as a team poster.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Maria Piedrabuena
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
