More than 1,700 attend Hoops Fest XIII

More than 1,700 basketball fans turned out on Friday evening to experience one of the only times when players from all of the area's high schools can show off their skills in one venue.

And the fans show off a bit of theirs—the dancing, fashion and people-watching attract many of the attendees.

Hoops Fest, an annual fundraiser that generated $8,830 for Maria Perez and her family, was held at Gar-Field Senior High School.

High school and college youth clad in skinny jeans, sneakers with their tongues stuck out and bright-colored headbands filled the gym.

Rodney Griffen, of Capital City DJs, raised the crowd to its feet with tracks from Slick Rick, Bell Biv DeVoe and Hurricane Chris.

"This is a big social gathering," said Victoria Broadnax, who came to Hoops Fest to see her boyfriend, Dion Romeo, shoot in the slam dunk contest; he won second place. "It's basically like a party, but without all the dancing—well, people do dance."

Gar-Field sophomores Fae Delkaso and Tony Green said they were there to see and be seen.

"Everybody comes here to look at the breezys," Green said. Breezys, he said, are good-looking girls.

Mia Polk spent two hours curling her hair into tight ringlets just for Hoops Fest.

She angled a pink bow on the side to get noticed.

"This is a fashion statement," she said.

"Everybody gets dressed up, they get flat out," said Delkaso.

Nay McClean, another sophomore from Gar-Field, said she came to see "all of the wonderful people."

Beyond the designer shoes, gold jewelry and scarves, the spectators paid to see basketball and to help out a family in need.

Efua Kum kept the charity in mind when she came, she said. Kum, a junior from Freedom High School, wanted to support the Perez family, she said.

Perez and her three children have been living apart since last summer. She said she hopes to use the money to get an apartment in the area and bring their family together.

She thanked the crowd for showing up just before the slam dunk contest.

She was surprised at the support she received from her coworkers and the crowds that showed up.

"There's somebody out there that really cares, there's people out there who really care," she said before the events began.

Nikia Hovey, head cheer coach and school administrator, said she'd come to Hoops Fest even if she wasn't working. Her cheerleaders ran the concession stand on Friday night.

"This is the one opportunity that the entire county can come together," she said. "This generation gets a bad rep sometimes, but this is a good thing for them."

Staff writer Lillian Kafka can be reached at 703-878-8065.