LEWISTON – Organizers of a three-on-three basketball tournament in Kennedy Park on Saturday hope local players will rise to the challenge.

“We have players from all over, from Boston and New Hampshire and from New York,” said organizer Kaleem Clarkson. “Plus, there should be a lot from all over Maine. But we really hope the people from the neighborhood will show up.”

This is the eighth year for the 3on3 Basketball Charity Jam, sponsored by concerts4charity.org, a national music and arts promotion group. But it’s the first year the event comes to Lewiston, and Clarkson said he has high hopes.

“We’re still kind of getting the feel for the area, but it’s open to anybody,” he said. “This is the first year for Lewiston, and I think that people will know a little bit more of what to expect when we come back next year.

The tournament kicks off at 9 a.m. in the Kennedy Park basketball courts, and teams may register right up to game time.

The event started in Portland’s Deering Oaks Park in 2000, the brainchild of former University of Maine basketball player Ramone Jones and hip-hop group ILL Natural. Proceeds from entry fees were donated to local charities. It expanded to include Bangor last year.

Clarkson said the Bangor event last week drew 20 teams in three divisions. The final event is scheduled on Aug. 16 in Portland.

The tournament has a middle school division, a high school division and a Superstar division, for the very best teams.

“We have high schoolers who play as Superstars, and they’ve done pretty well in the past,” he said. All teams can be coed, although it’s not required.

“We don’t have a female division yet, but we had a team of high school girls do pretty well last year,” he said.

The entry fee is $20 for middle and high school teams and $30 for superstars. Each team can have four players – three on court and an alternate. Winning teams get T-shirts and a trophy. The winning Lewiston team in the Superstar division will be automatically entered in the Portland contest, with a chance to win ticket vouchers to a Boston Celtics game.

The event is free to the public, and features live music.

“The main reason we’re doing this is to give the community an opportunity to come together and see what’s going on,” he said. He’s invited local charity groups and social organizations to set up tables outside the event to distribute information.

Local officials are excited about the event. Recreation Director Maggie Chisholm said it should showcase the recently refurbished basketball courts, which reopened this spring. The courts were relocated up Park Street last year to make room for the skate park.

“But we have a really great energy in Kennedy Park these days, with the skateboard park and the swimming pool and the basketball players,” she said. “There’s a lot of youth down there, a lot of people, and it’s getting very busy.”