Unfazed by the deafening noise inside Lehighton Area Elementary Center’s gymnasium Tuesday afternoon, third grader Jesse Miller’s plans for the evening of Nov. 22 came into focus.

Miller earned his ticket to a Harlem Wizards basketball game, scheduled for 7 p.m. in the LAEC gym, by defeating David “DP” Paul, a 20-year Wizard himself, in a contest to see who could go the longest without dropping a basketball pass.

“Going out here and putting smile on the kids faces, it never gets old even after 20 years,” Paul said after spending time at Lehighton’s middle and elementary schools Tuesday to promote the game. “It’s an honor to share my special gift and our special brand of basketball with communities all over the place.”

Paul got students of every age involved in the festivities by mixing in well-known music tracks such as “Can’t Stop The Feeling,” “Shake It Off” and, for the younger members of the Tribe, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”

“It’s a fun day in that we get the kids dancing, get the teachers involved and give them a little taste of what they can expect if they come out to the game next week,” Paul said.

The game, pitting the Wizards against Lehighton faculty members, will benefit the Lehighton Education and Athletic Foundation.

“This was a major fundraiser for us in 2019 and we had a wonderful turnout so it’s something we wanted to do again for our students and the community,” Tim Tkach, LEAF president and retired school district administrator, said. “We’re looking forward to a really fun night.”

LEAF has historically funded classroom grants for teachers and annual scholarships of $1,500 each to two senior boys and two senior girls who are in the top 40% of their class. The awards are based on service to community/school, a caring and giving attitude, as well as financial need.

Advance tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults. If purchased at the door, tickets are $12 and $17 respectively.

There will be opportunities to buy tickets at all three Lehighton schools.

Elementary Center parents are asked to place the number and type of tickets requested in an envelope with the student’s name and homeroom teacher on the outside and the money or check enclosed. The district will return them in an envelope the next day. Checks should be made payable to L.E.A.F.

Tickets will be sold at the middle school during lunch on Nov. 16-18 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. This is also when the general public can purchase tickets in the middle school main lobby foyer.

At the high school, tickets will be sold in the main office during lunchtime hours.

Tickets can also be purchased online at https://pretix.eu/harlemwizards/Lehighton.