Loons Announce 2012 Entertainment Line-Up

MIDLAND, MI - Today the Loons are excited to present the 2012 Promotional Schedule, packed with promotions, theme nights, giveaways and national entertainment. While a lot of the promotional favorites will be making their return, the schedule also features some new and exciting twists and turns.

As previously announced, the Great Lakes Loons will continue their 5th Anniversary Celebration into 2012. The celebration will frame much of the season and feature many different tributes to former Loons players and historic moments from the Loons first five seasons. One of the biggest tributes will take place on June 12, when the Loons giveaway Clayton Kershaw figurines, presented by ESPN 100.9-FM. The figurine features Kershaw in a Loons white home uniform.

"After his N.L. Cy Young win last season, we wanted to honor Kershaw on the promotional schedule," said Chris Mundhenk, Loons Vice President of Marketing and Entertainment. "The figurine and will be a special part of our 5th Anniversary Celebration and a hot collector's item for Loons fans all over. We're also excited to have Red Wing great Kris Draper making an appearance at Dow Diamond on August 22 as a part of our Red Wings Legends Series."

The Red Wings Legends Series, presented by MidMichigan Health, features three in-person appearances by Red Wings greats and three Red Wings bobblehead giveaways. While the four-time Red Wings Stanley Cup winner Kris Draper will headline the list of players scheduled to appear at Dow Diamond this summer, the others will be former Red Wing and the team's current play-by-play announcer Ken Daniels (June 13) and Hall of Fame center Marcel Dionne (July 11). All player appearances have been confirmed but are subject to change. Bobbleheads to be given away are former Red Wings and hockey Hall of Famers Dino Ciccarelli (May 23), Mark Howe (July 25) and Alex Delvecchio (August 15). The Red Wings Legends Series is a six-game ticket package available for just $54 by calling the Loons ticket office at 989-837-BALL.

The season begins with the Opening Day Celebration, presented by Consumers Energy, which features a parade down Main Street to Dow Diamond. Adults can usher in the summer baseball season at the pregame party tent featuring live music by Jedi Mind Trip. Prior to first pitch, the Loons will open the mysterious box that the team recently received, of which a new video was released today on Loons.com. Also on Opening Day, the Loons will unveil their 5th Anniversary All-Time Team, which is currently up for vote on Loons.com.

There will be 13 nights featuring the widely popular Fireworks Loontaculars, powered by Dow Corning. The first of the 13 fireworks nights is Saturday, May 26. Due to a limited number of Wednesday home games during the summer months of 2012, the Chemical Bank $1 Family Feast Nights will now take place at each Thursday home game. On these 11 nights, fans can purchase hot dogs, ice cream sandwiches and 16 oz. Coke products for just $1 each.

Farm Bureau Insurance will again be the presenting sponsor of three Sunday Pregame Youth Baseball Clinics (May 27, June 3 and June 17), complete with baseball instruction from Loons players. Each child attending the clinic will receive a free baseball courtesy of Farm Bureau Insurance. Farm Bureau Insurance also returns as the presenting sponsor of Kids Run the Bases, following every Sunday afternoon home game.

Every Tuesday home game will be a Dodgers Route of Champions Night. This Dodger-themed promotional series will highlight former Loons players and the storied history of the Los Angeles Dodgers through in-game content, on-field contests and more. As part of the Dodgers Route of Champions promotional series, the Loons will wear Dodgers uniforms.

Several national entertainment acts will appear at the ballpark throughout the season. Making single-game appearances will be Captain America and the Amazing Spider-Man (May 25), America's Got Talent finalists the Russian Bar Trio (July 12), Reggy the Purple Party Dude (July 14), the Chicago Boyz Acrobatic Team (July 27), the Zooperstars! presented by Charter (August 17) and the hippest nerd Myron Noodleman (August 23).

New to 2012, the Loons have put a twist on the High School Spirit nights by introducing the Home Room Challenge on April 27. This is a fun, exciting way to bring students, faculty, families and friends together to show school spirit during a Loons home game. Schools will compete head-to-head in on-field promotions, participate in a quiz bowl, and nominate a teacher to participate in a hitting contest after the game. The school that finishes with the most points will receive a cash donation reward from the Loons. Participating schools include Valley Lutheran, Midland Dow, Bay City All Saints, Bay City Western, Bullock Creek, and more to come.

Many other theme nights mark the promo calendar this summer, including Social Media Night (April 26), Loons Pennant Race (April 28), Super Hero Night (May 25), Storybook Princess Night (May 26), Biker Day presented by the Midland Community Center (June 3), Halloween Night (June 4), Loons Independence Day Luau (July 3), Loons Latino Night (July 13), Christmas in July Night (July 16), Lou E.'s Big Top Loontacular (July 27), Super Splash Day presented by the Midland Community Center (August 5), Star Wars Night (August 11), Nerd Night (August 23), Raining Money Night presented by Chemical Bank (August 24), World's Strongest Loons Fan presented by Smitty's Iron Works (August 26), Salute to the Arts Night presented by Midland Center for the Arts (August 28), Garage Sale Night (September 1), and Budweiser Ultimate Fan Experience challenge night (September 2).

And because everyone likes free things, the promo schedule has 12 giveaway nights set for the season. These include five F.P. Horak poster giveaways (April 14, May 28, June 15, July 15 and August 27), three bobblehead giveaways (listed above), the Loons magnet schedule giveaway presented by Farm Bureau Insurance (April 9), the team photo giveaway presented by ESPN 100.9-FM (May 24), the Kershaw figurine (June 12), and a Loons Hat Giveaway presented by Tri County Equipment (June 29).

A full listing of the Loons 2012 promotional schedule is attached to this release and available on Loons.com. Individual game tickets for the 2012 season will go on sale March 1, and can be purchased at Loons.com, in person at the Dow Diamond box office or by phone at 989-837-BALL. The Great Lakes Loons are the sixth-year Single-A partner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and are in the middle of their 5th Anniversary Celebration, which kicked off in August 2011 and will continue throughout the 2012 season. For more information about the Loons, visit Loons.com or call 989-837-BALL.