(Posted March 25, 2016)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
On April 6, the London High School gym is hosting a spectacle designed to delight all ages. The Harlem Wizards, a professional entertainment basketball team, will put on a show that combines humor, tricks, slam dunks, and audience participation.
Proceeds will help to reduce the debt on St. Patrick School’s Parish Activity and Recreation Center, which opened in London in 2014 and is used for school, parish and community activities.
This is the Wizards’ second appearance in London. They performed last year, too, to a packed house.
“This year, they have new skits and a new player named ‘High Rise,’” said Darryl Pruitt, event organizer and St. Patrick School athletic director. “I saw him play at a fundraiser in Reynoldsburg recently. He does awesome dunks, including one where he ends up hanging on the rim by his armpits.”
On April 6, the Wizards will play the London Community All-Stars, featuring St. Patrick and London City Schools faculty members and coaches, as well as area residents.
Advance tickets can be purchased at St. Patrick School, 226 Elm St., London; by contacting Darryl Pruitt at (614) 313-3595; or by stopping by Pruitt’s table at the London Community Center on Walnut Street between 10 a.m. and noon March 26 and April 2. Options are:
- $10—general admission;
- $17—front row seat and a Wizards poster (limited availability); or
- $25—front row, mid-court seat, Wizards poster, lanyard to wear showing seat assignment, and 20-minute pre-game meet-and-greet with the players (limited availability).
Tickets also will be available at the door on game night. Doors open at 6 p.m. The game starts at 7. For those who purchase the $25 tickets, the meet-and-greet starts at 6:15. Concessions and Wizards merchandise will be on sale.
Sponsors helping to offset the cost of the event are: Stanley Electric, Re/MAX, Hot Head Burrito, Memories by Michelle, Wall to Wall Storage, KFC, Madison Lanes, Phat Daddy’s, Ronetti’s, Dr. Powell of Columbus Obstetricians-Gynecologists Inc. of London, Buckeye Ford/Quick Lane, Eades Insurance, Richard Dunkle, Dock Pizza, London Fastpitch, Mabe’s Clothing and Sports Apparel, DS Distribution Warehouse, and Howling Wolf.
For more about the Harlem Wizards, go to www.harlemwizards.com. Additionally, Ready FM 105.1, the local London radio station, will air an interview with Pruitt and Harlem Wizards star Swoop, at 6 p.m. March 29, 10 a.m. March 31, and 2 p.m. April 1.
