As the summer winds down and school is about to start, families who are away on vacation come back to Moorestown to prepare for the upcoming school year.
Parents and children who don’t want to give up the summer just yet don’t have to with the Wiffle Ball Cup & Fest coming up.
Perkins Center for the Arts will be celebrating its 3rd Annual Wiffle Ball Cup & Fest on Saturday, Sept. 12 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The fun-filled tournament is an all-ages, family-friendly event held outside Perkins Center for the Arts, Moorestown on the Arboretum at Evergreen Lawn. Players and their fans are invited to spend the day, picnic and play ball.
“It is an opportunity for families, teenagers and kids to come out and play. It is just a great way for us to give people a chance to come together and experience something different that we have to offer,” manager of special events Samantha Salazar said.
Perkins Center decided it would have a wiffle ball tournament three years ago when it was looking for a way to bring people to the center and attract those who normally wouldn’t come. They wanted something the community could really get involved in and have a good time with, and wiffle ball seemed like the perfect fit.
The tournament has a two-season set up, the first from 9 a.m. to noon and the second from noon to 3 p.m. After that will be the playoffs, starting at 3 p.m. and ending around 5 or 6 p.m. Twenty-four team slots are available for the tournament, and teams can be co-ed and of any age. First-, second- and third-place winners will receive hand-made trophies by Perkins Center’s Pottery Studio manager Paul Serena. As of Tuesday, Aug. 18, there were eight spots left. Sign ups can be done online at perkinsarts.org.
For this year, Perkins Center wanted to take the wiffle ball event to another level. Instead of just having a tournament, it is adding fun activities and contests to entertain visitors during and after the games, hence adding the word “Fest.”
“It started as just a wiffle ball tournament … then last year, people hung around until after dark and they wound up playing cornhole and just hanging out and having a good time. So we just said, ‘let’s just kind of incorporate that into what we’ve got here,’ and made it a part of our event,” event chair Paul Canton said.
“This year, we are kind of taking it up a little notch, offering a few more things. We really want to stress that it is a very family-friendly event,” Salazar said.
New this year will be a BBQ and cornhole contest. Perkins Center invites people who are interested in being a part of the BBQ contest to bring their grills or smokers to the lawn, cook as long as they’d like that day, and show their stuff. After the wiffle ball tournament, there will be the tasting of BBQ food and a cornhole contest. Sign-up forms can be found at the Perkins Center website, perkinsarts.org. Both contests will offer a cash prize.
This year will also include a Brazilian BBQ food truck, offering a variety of foods; the local high school band playing live music; children’s activities such as art projects and toss games; and local businesses providing food for the event.
“It is all day; even if you don’t have a team, there are still things for you to do. Come hang out and get to know the space,” Salazar said.
The purpose of the Wiffle Ball Cup & Fest is not only to create a fun community-wide event, but also to help people get to know more about Perkins Center and all it has to offer.
“People should come out because it is a fun and relaxing day, and you know you’re giving back to a small organization in town,” Salazar said.
Last year, about 200 people came to the Wiffle Ball Cup and helped the Perkins Center raise $12,000. This year, Canton and Salazar hope more people come and they can raise more money for Perkins Center, with a goal of $14,000.
All of the money raised goes back to the Perkins Center. The fall session starts on Sept. 21 and classes are open for registration.
Visit the Perkins Center for the Arts website to sign up for the tournament or contests, to help sponsor the event, to get more information about the Perkins Center and the opportunities it has to offer at perkinsarts.org.
