Katy Perry & Friends hosted the first 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 2019 by Katy and her sister, Angela Lerche, the foundation’s mission is 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 Jason Collins, Kate Hudson, James Valentine, Lauren Sanchez, Corey Gamble, Meghan Trainor, Daryl Sabara, Rob Lowe and John Owen Lowe, local pickleball enthusiasts and several top professional pickleball players – Federico Staksrud, Mary Brascia, Maggie Brascia and Thomas Wilson. After Eric Geeb and Brett Williams took the championship title in the 2023 Light Up The Court Pickleball Tournament, they played a match against Mary Brascia and Thomas Wilson.
Topping off the event, which was produced by Ngoc Nguyen (Nguyen Strategies), was a mic’d exhibition that pitted Katy and Federico Staksrud against Orlando Bloom and Maggie Brascia. After an intensely close match, Team Katy emerged victorious 13-11. Celsius
sponsored the VIP Players Lawn and other event sponsors included Stanley, The Pick, Malk Milk, CRBN and Selkirk, which gave guests a chance to preview their unreleased LUXX paddles and Pro S1 balls, which won’t be on the market until later this year. Guests enjoyed sipping on De Soi, Cascade, Amass and Avaline and had the opportunity to bid on a Moke vehicle that was auctioned off.
Camp counselors from Firework Foundation’s Camp Firework were on hand to distribute custom camper designed Katy Perry Collections shoes, and share information about the organization’s marquee initiative, a 3-day sleep-away experience in nature where up to 90 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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