Tickets
for Major League Baseball's All-Star game may not be readily
available as the supply is limited. But, that doesn't mean
there won't be plenty of baseball-related activities for
area kids during the all-star weekend.
The America's Center in downtown St. Louis will be filled
for five days with all sorts of activities, displays and
interactive games at MLB's All-Star FanFest. Many of the
activities are designed for kids.
And, it will be a great place to collect souvenir baseball-related
memorabilia.
In addition, there is the All-Star Charity 5K and Fun Runs
on Sunday, July 12.
And the All-Star Sunday activities at Busch Stadium include
a Futures Game and a Legends and Celebrities softball game.
On Monday, there are chances to watch the player workouts
and the much ballyhooed Home-run Derby.
(For detailed information about all these events, visit
www.allstargame.com.)
On Tuesday, July 14, the St. Louis Cardinals are host to
the 2009 All-Star game. This is the first time the mid-summer
classic has been here in 43 years.
Back
in 1966, the National League beat the American League, 2-1,
in 10 innings.
As for this year's game, things haven't changed much for
spectators. Tickets are scarce and most fans will be watching
on TV or listening on the radio.
But, one big difference for the weekend is the All-Star
FanFest. That will fill the America's Center in downtown
St. Louis with a wide variety of programming to give kids
and their families a taste of the joys of baseball.
The FanFest has 30 different displays, many of them interactive.
They allow kids to participate and also to get personalized
souvenirs to take home.
Major league baseball often is referred to as a "kids'
game played by men."
And the growth of the All-Star Fanfest is major league
baseball's acknowledgement that they need to introduce future
fans to the game when they are young.
This year's All-Star FanFest activities range from interactive
home-run and base-stealing booths to displays from the MLB
Hall of Fame in Cooperstown.
There's even a special booth for "Women of the Diamond"
that showcases women's pro teams and current "fast-pitch"
players. A Negro Leagues booth also is included.
Daily tickets for All-Star FanFest range from $30 to $25.
But, tickets are for the whole day and FanFest hours are
from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 10, and from 9 a.m.
to 8 p.m on Saturday, Sunday Monday and Tuesday, July 11-14.
There are ticket packs for families of 4, 5, 6 or 7. Those
range from $90 to $150, and allow admission for two adults
and 2, 3, 4 or 5 kids.
This Young Saint Louis.com article will describe some of
the displays and activities. But, for more information,
you also can go to www.allstargame.com.
Here are some of the interactive, participatory activities:
On
the All-Star Game website, there are details on two
St. Louis Cardinal programs for kids: Cardinals Crew
Kids Club and Cardinals' Way Baseball Clinics.