Blue Wahoos' Halloween Events Include Trick Or Treat, Fireworks, Unique Murder Mystery Night

In a fall season of first-time happenings at the ballpark, the Blue Wahoos will present a pair of Halloween-themed events on consecutive weekends, both open to the public.

“Part of diversifying in a time of this coronavirus pandemic is coming out with new ideas and that’s really what we have been trying to do,” said Adam Waldron, the Blue Wahoos creative services manager.

On Saturday (Oct. 24), the Wahoos have partnered with the Junior League of Pensacola for “Healthy Halloween” featuring a costume, trick-or-treat for kids on the stadium concourse, followed by a movie, “Coco” and post-movie fireworks show. The event will begin at 5:30 p.m. Saturday with the movie and fireworks to follow.

Admission is $5. Everyone entering the stadium must wear a protective mask and keep it on until sitting in the seats or in the field area.

Next Friday, Oct. 30, the Blue Wahoos will stage a unique Murder Mystery Dinner Night with local actors and the Hancock-Whitney Club level converted into a 1920’s style “Speakeasy” club. That will be followed by an 18-older movie, “Halloween” on the stadium video board.

The dinner event is $75 per-person and includes hors d’oeuvres, a five-course meal of choice and Champagne toast. Tickets must be purchased by Tuesday (Oct. 27).

The movie that follows is $5 admission for those who choose to just watch the showing of “Halloween.” Those tickets can be purchased all the way through Oct. 30.

“These kind of events lend itself to what the ballpark was meant to do… it was meant to adapt and change from thing to thing,” said Waldron, who has been with the Blue Wahoos since their inaugural season in 2012 when he began as an intern and has since moved into a manager’s role.

“I think what we have done all summer, beginning with the dining services, the trivia nights, the bingo nights has given us confidence to try new events,” Waldron said. “For me, my job is to entertain people, Each one of these events has given us a different opportunity to entertain people in a totally different and off-the-wall sort of way.

“And in a way, it’s kind of refreshing.”

The “Healthy Halloween’’ event on Saturday will enable kids to enjoy a night of trick-or-treating in a safe way on the stadium concourse and be able to dress up in various costumes. Tickets can be purchased at the stadium Saturday.

Gates will open at 5:30 for that portion of the event. The Walt Disney movie Coco was released in 2017 and is an animated fantasy movie geared for kids. Fireworks will then follow the movie.

Like all of the Blue Wahoos events since the COVID-19 pandemic, all ticket holders to these events must wear masks upon entering stadium. Physical distancing will be practiced whether sitting in stadium seats or on the field.

The Blue Wahoos staff will be wearing protective masks and anyone handling tickets or food will be wearing gloves. The stadium will have concession stands open for food and beverage purchases.

The Murder Mystery event on Oct. 30 is entitled “Mystery At Pier 51” with a waterfront setting back in the 1920’s during the Prohibition Era. Speakeasy clubs were private locales in cities where people could obtain alcoholic beverages in a way hidden from law enforcement.

Passwords were required at some Speakeasy clubs back then. The Blue Wahoos will keep that theme when guests enter through the Hancock Whitney Club entrance to get on the elevator to the third level.

In addition, guests will be treated to music of that era by the Pace High jazz ensemble.

“Those who purchase a ticket will be given the password to come up to the Speakeasy,” Waldron said. “We are sticking to that tradition of what it was.

“Our setting will be this club in the port district of our fictional town and that’s what lends itself to our stadium setting. We have a view of the port, we are on the water. We are playing to our strengths. So we wanted to accentuate strengths of the ballpark.

“We have this view of downtown, the bay, the sunset, that is something nobody else can compete with.”

The idea of a Murder Mystery Night was formulated by Anna Grace Carrick, a recent college graduate and now working with Waldron in the Blue Wahoos promotions department.

“When she suggested the idea and we began thinking and researching, it was agreed that we could pull this off,” Waldron said. “We are putting a lot of effort into setting this up. When you step off the elevator, it will not be like walking into the Hancock Whitney Club on a baseball game day.

“It will be like a club. The stage will be in the middle and the tables set up around it with unique décor. It will feel like a club.”

The scenes from the movie will occur during the dinner. At the end of the meal, which includes desert, the diners will be provided a card to write the name of the “murderer.” During the meal, there will be games of chance at the club including roulette.

Both weekend events fit what the Blue Wahoos have tried to do since mid-March when realizing a baseball season would not happen due to the coronavirus.

“For these fall events, it was a way to come up with something for Halloween,” Waldron said. “So let’s come up with a way to do a twisty, turning, murder-mystery story. Let’s get some good food and cool décor. Something people would not expect the Blue Wahoos would do.”

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Blue Wahoos Halloween Events

WHEN: Saturday (Oct. 24) and Oct. 30

WHO: Saturday is costume, trick-or-treat event for kids, followed by movie “Coco,” and fireworks. Oct. 30 is a murder mystery dinner setting, followed by a separate movie event, “Halloween” for those ages 18-up.

ADMISSION: $5 for all on Saturday. The Oct. 30 Murder Mystery Night is a $75 ticket, which must be purchased by Tuesday. It includes option of five-course meal, plus Champagne toast at Hancock Whitney Club Level. The movie Halloweeen to be shown after the dinner is a $5 general admission ticket for anyone.

WHERE TO BUY: Tickets can be purchased on the Blue Wahoos website at www.bluewahoos.com, or at the stadium box office.