Blue Wahoos First-Time Contest Winners Thrilled By Marlins FanFest Experience 

Taylor Addison was driving her daughter last month to a cheerleading competition in Biloxi when jolted by a phone call, which led into a family trip of a lifetime.

She was informed of submitting the winning entry in the Blue Wahoos first-time contest of an all-expenses paid trip to Miami to attend the recent Miami Marlins 2025 FanFest event.

“I just pulled over and started crying,” she said, recalling the moment. “I was so happy.”

The actual experience that day at the Marlins’ loanDepot Park proved even more joyful.

Taylor and her husband Caleb, along with 11-year-old daughter Kenlee and 6-year-old son Kamden, spent the entire four hours of the Marlins’ FanFest relishing the entire experience.

They met players, including former Blue Wahoos players now on the Marlins’ 40-man roster, visited with Marlins fans, took in a concert on the venue plaza and a post-game fireworks show. Kamden participated in an on-field clinic for kids conducted by Marlins players and coaches.

The event, which preceded the start of the Marlins’ spring training, occurred with the retractable roof of loanDepot park open, offering a dramatic vista of downtown Miami and enhancing the fireworks show.

“From start to finish it was absolutely amazing,” said Taylor Addison, whose family lives in Gulf Breeze and frequently attend Blue Wahoos games. “The atmosphere was electric. The Blue Wahoos offered such an unforgettable experience. We cannot thank the Blue Wahoos enough for giving us the chance to do something like this as a family opportunity.

“It was so much fun. It will be something we will be talking about the rest of our lives.”

The Blue Wahoos in January announced the offering of a two-night trip for a family of four. It included airfare, rental car, hotel and $250 for food or other expenses. The family’s winning entry was a video they produced during the historic January snowfall in Pensacola when they created a snowman outside the home as part of the video.

Team owners Quint and Rishy Studer made the same contest available for Beloit Sky Carp supporters in Wisconsin. That club is the Advance-A affiliate of the Marlins and co-owned by the Studers.

Three members of the Blue Wahoos front office staff travel to attend FanFest, along with Kazoo, giving the team distinction as the Marlins’ only affiliate team attending FanFest, along with bringing the team’s mascot.

“It gave us a great chance to introduce ourselves and our team brand to people there in Miami,” said Emily Mann, the Blue Wahoos group sales and community relations manager. “Kazoo got to go with the Marlins’ mascot ‘Billy The Marlin’ to Billy’s Boathouse (children’s play area behind center field), so that was neat. Fans thanked us for supporting the event and the Marlins.”

The family met with the Blue Wahoos contingent at loanDepot park during the FanFest event. Mann was able to arrange a place where they could all meet.

“When we drove past the stadium (the day before), the roof was closed. When we got to the stadium that day for FanFest, the roof was open,” Addison said. “It was like something we could have never, ever imagined. It was beautiful. It was huge.

“I was like a kid in a candy store. We were all so excited. There were a lot of fans. We had to figure our way around. But once we found Emily, we felt a little bit more at home. It seemed like everyone knew what they were doing at the stadium and we were so lost. But the people were so welcoming.”

For Taylor and Caleb's two children, the flight to Fort Lauderdale was their first time on a plane. It was Taylor Addison’s first time flying in 13 years.

The family checked into their hotel and immediately went to Miami’s famed South Beach area and ate at a renown Cuban restaurant, Havana Beach, located on Ocean Drive.

“The food was so good,” she said. “First time having anything like that.”

They then took a two-hour boat cruise on Biscayne Bay and the Intercoastal Waterway with the lights of Miami’s downtown skyline as part of the backdrop.

“We wanted to do as much as we could in the two days. We wanted to get the full experience of Miami since none of us had ever been there,” Addison said.

During the FanFest event, their two participated in the whiffle ball derby and went to a VIP area where they met former Blue Wahoos players Dane Myers, Victor Mesa Jr., Griffin Conine and others.

“That was very cool,” she said. “The whole stadium was beautiful, very clean. We want to go back there now for a game.

“We didn’t know what to expect. “It was very organized. I was thinking how can they have this many people and be so well organized. We were never on top of anyone. We never had to wait in a line.”

The three members of the Blue Wahoos front office met with Bryan Rodriguez Ballestero, the Marlins senior coordinator for experience and promotions. They were able to further the team’s relationship with the Marlins

“He has been our contact the past two years,” Mann said. “It seemed like there were a lot more people than last year. There was a lot of excitement among people who were there. The Marlins do a great job with this event. They had things going on everywhere.

“They did a lot of really cool things with their partners, so there was a lot for people to do and lot of free stuff for fans, which always helps. It was good and it was great to have Taylor and Caleb and their family as our first contest winners.”