(7/29) from Launch: (7/27/00, 6 p.m. ET)
'N Sync has been in the New
York City area all week long, creating a fan frenzy wherever they show
up. Tonight (July 27), the group's concert performance from Madison
Square Garden was broadcast live on HBO. Tomorrow (July 28) 'N Sync
will start the day early with an interview and free concert live
outside the Today show studios in Rockefeller Plaza - for which fans
started lining up more than 48 hours in advance, despite pouring rain.
Later Friday (July 28) afternoon, the pop superstars will take part
in a press conference at Planet Hollywood alongside celebrity friends,
including Pink, Kelly Price, Fat Joe, Donell Jones, Usher, Jordan
Knight, Rockmond Dunbar, Shannon Elizabeth, Darren Henson, Antawn
Jamison, Josh Keaton, Stephon Marbury, Dennis Scott, Eric Strickland,
Isaiah Thomas, and Youngbloodz. All of the above- mentioned stars are
among the participants in 'N Sync's Challenge For The Children II
charity basketball game on Saturday (July 29) at St. John's University
in Queens (tip-off time 7:30 p.m. ET). This second annual event will
be followed by a post-game bash later that same evening at an
undisclosed location. 'N Sync member Chris Kirkpatrick explained to
LAUNCH this week why the basketball game is important to the group.
"'N Sync has a charity called Challenge For Children that we're doing
an event for on Saturday," he said. "Everything that we get involved
with has to do with children because that's our main audience and that's
who we can reach out to. We're also doing some things--which I really
can't talk about right now--but we're doing some commercials coming up
to make children aware on other important issues." Kirkpatrick added
that Challenge For The Children was founded by 'N Sync in 1999 to offer
financial support to a variety of children's programs and charities
across the nation. "It's not one charity where we give to children's
cancer or to children's leukemia," he pointed out. "It's a very general
children's organization where we divide it up among a lot of children's
organizations. Because, you know, there's so many times that if we just
focused on one disease or one thing it would be so easy to pigeonhole
all the money just into that one charity, but since it's such a broad
thing we can help out--not a lot--but a little in a lot of places."
Some of the organizations benefiting from this year's game include
Arnold Palmer's Hospital For Children & Women, The Justin Timberlake
Foundation, and the Nordoff-Robbins Foundation. 'N Sync will also make
a brief appearance singing the national anthem at the annual Jayson
Williams Celebrity Softball Challenge at Riverfront Stadium in Newark,
New Jersey, on Saturday (July 29).
