KATY PERRY & FRIENDS HOST 2nd ANNUAL LIGHT UP THE COURT PICKLEBALL TOURNAMENT TO BENEFIT FIREWORK FOUNDATION
Last weekend, on Sunday, October 13th, Katy Perry & Friends hosted the 2nd Annual Light Up the Court Pickleball Tournament at the Montecito Club in Katy’s hometown of Santa Barbara, CA. All proceeds from the event will benefit Firework Foundation, founded in 2018 by Katy and her sister, Angela Lerche, to empower children from underserved communities by igniting their inner light through the arts.
The tournament kicked off with a round robin of players that included Ellen DeGeneres, Orlando Bloom, Charlie Puth, Lauren Sanchez, Rob Lowe and John Owen Lowe, Benji Madden, James Valentine and local pickleball enthusiasts. The 2024 Light Up the Court Champions were Mike Roberts and Eui Oh, who also went on to de-throne last year’s champions in a special “All Time Best” of Santa Barbara match.
Capping off the event, which was produced again by Ngoc Nguyen (Nguyen Strategies), Katy and Angela (neé the Hudson Sisters) teamed up with top pickleball professionals, the Brascia Sisters, for an epic mic’d exhibition match among siblings with Katy and Mary Brascia narrowly beating Angela and Maggie Brascia 11-9.
CELSIUS was the exclusive energy drink sponsor of the event once again and, this year, shared the VIP billing with new sponsor, Denon, which provided their premier PerL Pro earbuds to VIP guests. City National Bank, DeSoi, Amass, Cascade, Avaline, CRBN, Civile and Stanley also returned as sponsors with the lifestyle apparel line creating special 2024 LUTC hoodies and paddles and the popular drinkware brand customizing their premier cross bottle for all attendees. New sponsors included Oliver Thomas, PlatinumLED Therapy Lights, Roar, Form Nutrition, EltaMD, Koatji, Perakos Family Cares, Kaylin & Kaylin Pickles, Life Time and major pickleball brand Joola, which provided the tournament’s pickleballs and several types of paddles from their expansive line for attendees. Guests were also treated to specialty cocktails provided by 818 Tequila and Sprinter Vodka Soda and McConnell’s was on site serving Katy Perry’s Baby You’re a Firework Blue Raspberry ice cream, available in scoop shops, select grocery stores and online now.
Camp counselors from Firework Foundation’s Camp Firework were on hand to distribute custom visors and shirts, and share information about the organization’s marquee initiative, a 3-day sleep-away experience in nature where up to 100 kids are provided a space to discover their spark through artistic programming and bring that sparkle home to their communities. The foundation has also partnered with organizations such as Boys and Girls Clubs of America, LAAMP (founded by Stargate, Katy’s collaborators on “Firework”), Young Producers Group and FIDM on music and mentorship programs and, for camp alumni, leaders-in-training programs. Katy and Angela were interviewed in this Firework Foundation segment from the Lifetime special about Variety’s 2022 “Power of Women: The Changemakers.”
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Photo Credit: Cynthia Parkhurst
