🗓 Sunday, August 31, 2025
🕒 3:00 PM – 9:00 PM
📍 Columbus Park (on Mulberry St between Mosco St & Bayard St)

Celebrate 80 years of 9-Man with an evening of food, music, and local vendors in the heart of Chinatown. This special community event honors the legacy of the game and the people who’ve built it—on and off the court. Whether you’re a longtime player or just discovering 9-Man, come experience the culture and community that make it all possible.

Screening Spotlight: 9-MAN

Join us for a special outdoor screening of the award-winning documentary 9-MAN on Sunday, August 31 at 8PM in Columbus Park. Bring your blankets to secure a space at 7:30pm.

9-MAN uncovers an isolated and unique streetball tournament played by Chinese-Americans in the heart of Chinatowns across the USA and Canada. Largely undiscovered by the mainstream, the game is a gritty, athletic, chaotic urban treasure traditionally played in parking lots and back alleys and it is fiercely protected by a community of men who require that 2/3 of players are “100% Chinese.” In the 1930’s, a 9-Man tournament was born. It emerged at a time when anti-Chinese sentiment and laws forced restaurant workers and laundrymen to socialize exclusively amongst themselves. Today it’s a lasting connection to Chinatown for a dynamic community of men who know a different, more integrated world, but still fight to maintain autonomy and tradition.

Come explore the amazing food, art, and small businesses that bring the flavors and creativity of Chinatown to life. 

For more: https://nacivt.com/9-man-festival