Harlem Wizards to play at EVHS Feb. 17

The Wizards are coming to town.

No, not Harry Potter and his crew, or the Russo clan. These Wizards can ball.

The Harlem Wizards will play teachers, coaches and special guests from Eastern View High School Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.

The Wizards are no strangers to Culpeper, having played here Nov. 15, 2008.

Knowing how much the community enjoyed the Wizards first visit drove the decision to bring them back, said Cyclone’s Athletic Boosters’ president Steve Speelman.

“We were just looking for a good clean, fun event that would help the boosters and help the sports program while getting the community involved,” Speelman said.

The boosters help fund athletics at Eastern View, purchasing music for the cheerleaders, netting for the lacrosse field, a rebound system for the basketball team and most notably the dugouts for the baseball and softball fields.

“Anything we can do to help the athletic programs, we try to do,” Speelman said, also pointing out the boosters have helped other organizations outside of athletics like the JROTC program.

Speelman said they have a team of 20 players, and they’ve been practicing already.

The Harlem Wizards combine amazing basketball talent with hilarious comedy. The athleticism, tricks, fancy teamwork and ball-handling wizardry, plus wild dunks not even seen in NBA games, engages and wows the most avid hoops fans.

The Wizards look to push the envelope on fun, combining pre-planned comedic acts with spontaneous humor that fans of all ages will find laugh-out-loud funny. The halftime show with hundreds of kids on the court, plus the postgame interaction with the Wizards, who stay until every autograph is signed, is the cherry on top.

The Wizards often garner comparisons to the Harlem Globetrotters, but their interaction with the crowd sets them apart.

While the Globetrotters are quite well known and many consider them synonymous with show basketball, they do not deliver the kind of connection, feeling, fun, community and excitement that the Wizards do,” Todd Davis, Wizards President, said. “The Wizard experience is unique in the world. Many fans tell us that the Wizards’ show is beyond comparison."

The Wizards are celebrating 50 years in existence, created in 1962 by New York sports promoter Howie Davis.

Fifty years later, the Wizards are an institution, creating awe-inspiring fundraising events for schools and non-profits. This season the Wizards expected to play more than 300 games around the United States and anticipate raising more than $1 million.

Tickets are $10 for students, kindergarten through 12^th grade, and senior citizens in advance, and $12 for adults in advance. Tickets at the door will be $12 for students and senior citizens and $15 for adults. Tickets are available at Eastern View and can be picked up at Becker’s Sporting Goods and Ledo’s Pizza.

Ledo’s and Becker’s both have printed coupons on the back of the tickets.

“It’s definitely a good value,” Speelman said. “I hope the community will support us, we’re here to support the kids. Everything we make goes back into athletics.”

Want to go?

What: Harlem Wizards visit Eastern View

When: Feb. 17 at 7 p.m.

Where: Eastern View High School

Cost: Advance — $10 for students, senior citizens; $12 for adults. At the door — $12 for students, senior citizens; $15 for adults.