The 11th Annual Tribeca Film Festival in conjunction with ESPN Sports and Founding Sponsor American Express, along with a number of other Signature Sponsors, announced the return of its signature free community events, the Tribeca Drive-In, Family Festival Street Fair, Tribeca/NYFEST Soccer Day and Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day. The 12-day (April 18-29, 2012) film and sports event is billed as a family fun festival and will be held in the Tribeca area of lower Manhattan.
The Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day is April 28 and will feature the New York Knicks, featuring former Knicks star, John Starks, and New York Liberty former star Kym Hampton. The New York Jets, BMX ”Wheels of Freestyle” Stunt Show, Olympians and athletes from the fencers Club, the Harlem Wizards, while tennis, baseball and hockey, are among some of the other sports featured. However, this year the festival in conjunction with newyorkcricket.com will feature live cricket demonstrations for the first time.
A perennial favorite of the Family Festival Street Fair, Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day gives sports fans the opportunity to engage in a variety of free, sports-related activities that will include games, demonstrations and prize giveaways. In addition, some of New York’s most popular athletes, mascots and sports personalities will make guest appearances throughout the day. The cricket demonstration is expected to be staged between 10am and 6pm on N. Moore Street (between Greenwich and West Streets) and will be sponsored by Time Warner Cable.
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The debut of cricket at the festival is a quantum leap forward for a sport that dates back to the 1800s in New York City, and it is expected to attract a lot of interest and comparisons to the current national pastime – baseball. Last year the Tribeca Film Festival featured “Fire in Babylon” a documentary film of the great West Indies teams of the 1970s and 80s.
According to Nancy Schafer, Tribeca Film Festival Executive Director, “We are thrilled to continue the tradition with festival favorites like the Drive-In, Family Festival Street Fair and Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day, and to challenge our industry colleagues, young athletes and soccer fans with the Tribeca/NYFEST Soccer Day tournament.”
Each year the festival’s free events bring thousands of people to lower Manhattan to enjoy top-notch talent and entertainment. Like the other sports expected to be featured at the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Day, the sport of cricket will be demonstrated by cricketers from the New York Cricket Region. Players interested in participating in the event are asked to contact newyorkcricket.com at [email protected]
