Blue Wahoos On Sunday To Host Building Brains Ballpark Bash For Early Learning Quest 

The quest of festive fun and informative awareness occurs Sunday when Blue Wahoos Stadium hosts the first of its kind, “Building Brains Ballpark Bash,” in partnership with the Studer Community Institute.

The open-to-public event from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. with $5 admission will feature on-field, inflatable stations, for children to play, while parents gain knowledge about the Building Brains Program that is a core mission of SCI.

In addition to being able to have fun on the field, the indoor batting cage adjacent to the Blue Wahoos team clubhouse will be available for children to take a few batting practice swings.

Blue Wahoos team owners Quint and Rishy Studer have sought to make Pensacola the first Early Learning City which focuses on critical brain develop from an infant’s birth through preschool age. This year’s spring event replaces the Light Up Learning night that was a semi-formal, fundraiser dinner, which first began at the Sanders Beach Community Center, then in recent years on the field at the ballpark.

“I think the big piece of this are the kids,” said Shannon Hannah, the Blue Wahoos events manager, who has been part of all of the previous Light Up Learning events and helped arrange the on-field dinners.

“Light up Learning events in past years have been the kind where you leave your kids at home with a babysitter and attend the dinner,” Hannah said. “With Sunday’s event, the kids are central focus of this one. It’s a family affair and it’s getting kids involved as much as the parents are, which I think is great.”

Hannah and Blue Wahoos events director Mia Montenaro have worked with SCI leaders Donte Sheppard, the Early Learning Development program manager and Steve Nissim, chief storyteller for SCI, to organize a three-hour event that will include Blue Wahoos mascot Kazoo, music, food and beverage at the stadium storefronts, along with open access to the field.

“There’s going to be 13 inflatables in the infield and they will all be laid out differently,” Montenaro said. “The idea is to make it look like a carnival, so kids will get tickets and they will give those tickets to the attendants at the inflatable station and walk through and have fun.

“The team store will be open. Concessions will be open. They want it to be a fun event. Light up Learning was more of a sit down and formal event with the focus on the parents. They want this to be a fun event where they bring their kids and the kids have fun.

“And while everyone is here having fun, the adults will learn about the resources that SCI has. Every inflatable will have a sponsor. The goal is while the kids are having a good time, the parents are learning.”

Sunday’s event is part of a busy March at Blue Wahoos Stadium. The ballpark hosted the nine-day Blue Wahoos Challenge tournament, featuring nine NCAA Division III college baseball teams, led by host school Wisconsin-Whitewater, and the final games were March 17.

Earlier this week, the University of West Florida baseball team played a midweek game against Georgia Southwestern.

On Saturday, the first “Celebrities vs. Veterans” softball game will occur from 5 p.m.-9 p.m. at the ballpark and feature Pensacola political leaders and other celebrities vs. military veterans in a fun event.

On Monday (March 25), Escambia High will play Booker T. Washington in a prep baseball game, which will then lead into Easter weekend events at the ballpark with “Eggawahooza” egg hunt on March 30 and the Sonrise Easter Sunday Service on March 31.

The Blue Wahoos 2024 season will have a historic prelude on April 2-3 at 6:05 p.m. each night with the Blue Wahoos team facing the Monterrey Sultanes, a team in the Mexican Professional League from Monterrey, Mexico. Tickets for those two games, which also feature a fireworks show after the April 3 game, are on sale through Blue Wahoos.com and the stadium box office.

The official start of the Blue Wahoos season is April 5 with a three-game, weekend homestand against the Mississippi Braves at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Building Brains Ballpark Bash

WHEN: Sunday (March 24)

WHEN: 2 p.m.-5 p.m.

WHERE: Blue Wahoos Stadium

ADMISSION: $5 per person

INFO: There will be inflatable games and setups on the field for kids to enjoy, food and beverages on the second-level concourse, indoor batting cage available, music, educational opportunities for parents about Early Learning and Early Brain Development in a community gathering setting.

TICKETS: www.bluewahoos.com or a stadium box office (Reminder that Blue Wahoos Stadium is a cashless venue).