December 12, 2023

CONTACT: John Silvey

Director@lemonstreetclassic.com

MARIETTA - The Lemon Street Classic Presented by the City of Marietta, will host its 4th annual tournament on December 21, 22 and 23. This three-day basketball tournament will highlight young athletes and honor the Lemon Street community in Marietta.

The name of the event pays homage to the area’s only school for minorities during segregation. The Lemon Street School was a place of community and pride for the Black community in Marietta and throughout Cobb County. The last graduating class was in 1966, before its integration with Marietta High School and various Cobb County Schools. Lemon Street Elementary School has recently been added to the Georgia Registry of Historic Places.

“We are fortunate to have an event like Lemon Street Classic in our community, not only from a tourism standpoint, but from a historical standpoint as well,” said Rachel Rogers, Director of Sports Sales & Engagement at Cobb Travel & Tourism and the Cobb Sports Alliance. “Lemon Street has such a rich history, and to see it honored in a unique way is a testament to the innovation and thoughtfulness of the sports community in Cobb.”

The Lemon Street Classic will showcase high school level basketball and serve as a catalyst for change. More than 25 schools from around the state and five from out of state are scheduled to participate. Marietta High School Boys Basketball team will be playing as Lemon Street High School to honor the history and the legacy of the school.

“We are honored to wear the Lemon Street Hornets uniforms and represent all those that came before us, just as we do when we put on the Marietta Blue Devils uniform,” said Coach Nicholas Estes, Varsity Assistant Boys Basketball Coach at Marietta High School. “We hope to inspire and untie our community through this event and hope to make our city proud.”

“We began this event to honor the history of Lemon Street and now it’s taken a history of its own. We have been honored to recognize many alumni from Lemon Street over the past three years, while enjoying high level high school basketball games in the background," said Head Coach Markus Hood for the Marietta Blue Devils.

“It’s a great sense of community when you are able to honor someone for who they were, when they may feel their voice was taken away from them with the demolition of their high school,” said Director of the Lemon Street Classic, John Silvey. “I love seeing their faces, or the joy in their family’s faces when they are recognized, and they realize they haven’t been forgotten.”

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit lemonstreetclassic.com & download the app from your device’s app store.

Thank you to our generous sponsors for this year’s tournament: City of Marietta, Wyndham Garden Hotel, BSN Sports, Zaxby’s (S. Marietta Pkwy), Marietta City Schools Foundation, Cobb Travel & Tourism and the Cobb Sports Alliance, S.A. White Oil Company, Poole’s Pharmacy, Marietta Power & Water, O’Dell, O’Neal Hungerford & Blanchard Law Offices, Piedmont Church, 680 The Fan Sports Radio, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Credit Union of Georgia, Stonebridge Church, North Metro Church, CW Matthews, Mayor Steve “Thunder” Tumlin, Marietta Meltyard, Three Amigos, Ponko Chicken and our local school/community partners.