December 5, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
The Harlem Wizards, the most interactive, fun, community basketball event in the world is coming to Smithville.
The world-famous Harlem Wizards will visit DeKalb Middle School on Thursday, February 29 at 6 p.m. for an evening of great fun and fundraising. Doors will open at 5 p.m. The Wizards will play a game against a team of DeKalb County School teachers, principals, SRO’s and community leaders. The event is a fundraiser for DeKalb Middle School. Only 850 tickets will be available and all sales will be online at www.harlemwizards.com or https://pretix.eu/harlemwizards/smithvilletn02-29-24-07-00pm/. DMS will get 52% of ticket proceeds. With Christmas coming up, tickets to see the Harlem Wizards may be a great gift idea. Souvenirs and concessions will also be available for sale on game night.
“ Ms. Suzette Barnes (DMS teacher) has been so gracious to plan and organize this awesome event to get us some funds to support our students in the unique ways they need,” said DMS Principal Caleb Shehane.
“We have a lot of plans here at DMS but unfortunately it takes funds and we are trying to raise those funds to give our students more opportunities whether it be through our positive behavior support system, social emotional learning, and to provide students opportunities to maybe see some things outside of DeKalb County, to go on a field trip or maybe to bring some more things to the school as a whole”.
“We have started the early process of a playground,” Principal Shehane continued. “We have the footer poured and the basketball goals up and we have some swings on the way. We hope to add to it little by little just to give the kids a place to play and relax and have some down time. Even though they are middle school students they still enjoy playing so we are trying to do that. We are also trying to offer some field trip incentives to students that may go above and beyond that work really hard with their attendance and grades. We have a lot of different ideas we are going to try to get people motivated”.
“We are trying to encourage students to have good attendance at school and to have positive behaviors, not only in school but in society. If we can use this as a means to do that then we want to do so,” said Barnes.
Hype Trailer from The World Famous Harlem Wizards on Vimeo.
“We have been working on attendance incentives,” added Martha Melching, DMS Counselor. “Some local businesses have been very kind and they have donated some items or funds to help with that but we really want to celebrate the kids who are showing up consistently. That is one of the things we have talked about. We would like to have some really nice prizes and things for that but also some experiences for the kids. We have big ideas. We just need the money to fund those ideas,” said Melching.
The energy at a Wizards game is electric. The laughter is infectious. The dunks are rim-rattling. High-flying and awe inspiring. The hoop artistry, ball-handling, tricks, and teamwork are mesmerizing.
What really takes it to another level is the hometown participation from the kids on court experiences, to the teachers, principals and other community leaders who take on the Wizards as the “hometown heroes”. Besides cheering for their teachers, the kids are involved all night long. They will all have a chance to get on the court!
Throughout the game audience members will be asked to volunteer in different contests and acts. The experience at a Wizards game is the community, the school coming together for a night of good, pure fun and excitement and it’s a fundraiser.
The event will feature a variety of fun interactive extras to complement the Wizards’ dazzling demonstration of hoops artistry: Pregame “Wiz Kids” warm-up, contests, comedy, awesome slam dunks, audience participation, merchandise giveaways, and more. The game will conclude with the Wizards’ signature dance celebration that will have the parents on their feet and the kids moving to the beat.
Members of the DMS team scheduled to take on the Harlem Wizards that night include DeKalb Fire Chief Donny Green, Smithville Mayor Josh Miller, State Representative Michael Hale, General Sessions/Juvenile Court Judge Brandon Cox, Smithville Elementary Assistant Principal Karen France, Northside Elementary Principal Angela Johnson, DeKalb West School Assistant Principal Seth Willoughby, DeKalb Middle School Principal Caleb Shehane, DCHS Assistant Principal Thomas Cagle, Darrin Vincent of Dailey & Vincent, DeKalb Assessor of Property Shannon Cantrell, DeKalb County Mayor Matt Adcock, Casey Midgett of First Bank, DMS teacher Justin Nokes, DMS SRO Joseph Carroll, DWS SRO Billy Tiner, DCHS SRO Chris McMillen, Northside Elementary School SRO Joe Pack, Sign Interpreter Rochelle Davis, NES teacher Trey Jones and possibly others yet to be named.
“We have had the Harlem Wizards here before and its always been a sellout. Its always a big crowd and a packed gym,” said Barnes. “This year we have 850 tickets to sell. Tickets sales this year are a little bit different than in the past. Before we had the paper tickets but this year everything is digital online. Its important to get tickets early. No tickets will be available at the door if its a sellout online. This is a great Christmas present idea. That’s one of the reasons we wanted to launch this announcement now,” Barnes added.
On game day, Barnes said the Harlem Wizards will be visiting all other schools in the county except for the high school. “On game day, depending on the school, the Wizards will either do cafeteria visits with students or 20-minute assemblies doing character traits lessons. At DMS we will do a pep rally and Northside will also do a pep rally but the details at the other schools have yet to be worked out”.
Founded in 1962, the Wizards have played over 15,000 games throughout the US that have raised more than $25 million for schools and charitable causes. The Wizards have also played in over 25 foreign countries on six continents.
Tickets are priced as follows: 850 tickets will be sold.
Advance Student Admission $12.00
Advance General Admission $14.00
Gate Admission (if tickets available) Student and Senior Citizens $14.00. General Public $16.00
Reserved $20.00
Courtside Plus Package $35.00 (60 tickets available)
Courtside Plus Package includes curtsied seating, a pre-game meet and greet for 10 minutes with 2 Wizards, a CS+lanyard, a free Wizards photo for the kids, a $10.00 gift certificate for adults and a $5.00 discount on jerseys purchased in advance.
Courtside Player Package. $110.00 (10 tickets available)
Courtside Player Package includes all the benefits of Curtsied Plus and a jersey for the kids. The kids will join the Wizards and play in a 3-minute game coached by the Harlem Wizards during halftime.
If you want to be a sponsor for tee shirts, etc. call DeKalb Middle School.