Celebrating Black History: Basketball and Historical Tours

Special to the Falls Church Times

February 10, 2010

The 5^th Annual Black History Celebration and Basketball Game is scheduled for Friday, February 26 at the Falls Church Community Center.  The City of Falls Church and the Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation are sponsoring the evening of laughter, family fun and basketball in celebration of black history month.

Festivities get underway at 5:30 p.m. with a pre-game discussion, Girls Got Game, that takes an intriguing look at early female basketball players and fashions as well discusses the present and future of women in basketball and sports.

At 7:00 p.m., the Falls Church City All-Star Team (made up of elected officials, business persons, parents, students and local community members) will play New York City’s finest, the Harlem MagicMasters. The game is geared to be fun, exciting and “edu-taining.”  If you love basketball, fun, laughter or history you won’t want to miss this!

The pre-game discussion will take a look at women in the early days of basketball through a slide show of vintage “ladies” basketball fashions and a fun look at the early “ladies” basketball game rules.  Invited guest speakers will discuss the challenges, victories, experiences, “roles” and opportunities for women in basketball and sports today.  The hour-long Girls Got Game discussion is free.

The basketball game will tip off at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $8 for youth and $10 for adults by visiting instant seats. Tickets at the door cost $10 for youth and $12 for adults. Children under 5 are free.

Black Heritage Walking Tours

Celebrate Black History Month with a walking tour through Falls Church City’s historical African American community every Saturday in February. This mile and a half walk winds through the back streets of Falls Church, across the main thoroughfares and visits historic cemeteries and little known enclaves as it focuses on the 19^th and 20^th centuries.

The Step Back in Time: Black Heritage Walking Tour begins at 3 p.m. at the Creative Cauldron at 410 S. Maple Avenue.  Guides share points of interest, and historical highlights and facts of Falls Church, including that at one point African American residents made up nearly 40% of the population of the town of Falls Church.

The walk ends at the Henderson House, the 1913 home of educators and early civil rights advocates, Dr. Edwin and Mary Ellen Henderson, affectionately called “Miss Nellie,” for whom Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School was named.  Walkers will gather inside for music, light refreshments, hot drinks and enjoy, in the words of Miss Nellie “a bit of pound cake and a glass of wine to warm your bones after a long walk.”

Reservations are required. Tickets are $18 for adults and $10 for youth. The walk is not recommended for children under 10 years of age. There are special student group rates and individual group tours can be arranged.  Call 703-534-4627 or 703-534-4627 for tickets.