Let Teddy Win T-Shirts
The week-long Washington Nationals Winter Caravan comes to a climactic end this Sunday, January 31 with the second annual NatsFest at Nationals Park.
Nationals fans who caught last year’s inaugural event were treated to an unusual level of access to players and management, as well as behind-the-scenes opportunities to visit the home and visitor clubhouses, batting cage, Lexus Presidents Club and more. This is a can’t-miss event for the true Nats fan.
General admission tickets are available at nationals.com for $10 (adults) and $5 (kids), and include parking in the B & C garages adjacent to the centerfield plaza. Season ticket holders have until midnight Saturday night to claim their tickets for free.
The full schedule of events is available for download here. This year’s schedule includes photo and autograph sessions with players, clubhouse tours, batting cage sessions, a Kids Zone with the Nationals racing presidents, various giveaways & charity auctions, plus Q&A sessions with GM Mike Rizzo, Manager Jim Riggleman, team President Stan Kasten, and journalists George Will and Tim Kurkjian.
Last year’s Q&A sessions drew packed crowds, so this year, the sessions have been moved to the Red Porch Restaurant, and guests are being asked to register on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 11:00am in the Exxon Strike Zone. If you don’t want to ask a question yourself, don’t worry. Each session will be simulcast throughout the stadium. In fact, last year when we failed to get into Manny Acta’s Q&A session, we watched from the comfort of the Nats’ clubhouse. Nice!
Photo of Ryan Zimmerman by Eve Roytshteyn/MLB.com.
Filed under: Presidents Race | Tagged: george will, jim riggleman, Mike Rizzo, Natsfest, natsfest schedule, Stan Kasten, Tim Kurkjian | Leave a Comment »
Washington Nationals owner Mark Lerner addressed “the Teddy question” in a live chat event today hosted by MLB.com. 
Dave Matthews Band will perform at Nationals Park on July 23, as part of its tour for the its album, “Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King”. They are joined on the tour by Zac Brown Band.
Our favorite oversized presidents made the journey to New York last year to hold the first-ever presidents race on ice skates between periods of a New York Islanders hockey game. After posing for photos with fans before the game, they slipped and slided (and scuffled) across the ice, with predictable results.
The Islanders have invited the presidents back this year. With no game scheduled for Presidents Day, look for George, Tom, Abe, and Teddy to make their appearance the night before, at the scheduled 5:00pm game on Sunday, February 14, between the host New York Islanders and the Ottawa Senators.
The Washington Nationals will once again be holding auditions on Presidents Day weekend for those who want to compete as racing presidents George, Tom, Abe, or Teddy during the 2010 season. 
The part-time, seasonal job includes not only participating in the presidents race, but also posing for photos, signing autographs, and appearing at “selected outside events.” 
If the second annual NatsFest is as good as the first, it will be a guaranteed good time for Nats fans. Expect long lines for to get autographs and take photos with Nationals players, but fans will otherwise roam freely in Nationals Park, tour the clubhouse, participate in question-and-answer sessions with the likes of Stan Kasten, Mike Rizzo, Jim Riggleman and George Will, and even take your shot in the Nationals batting cages for a $1 donation to the Nationals Dream Foundation. Nationals Season Ticket Holders will receive up to four complimentary tickets per account and additional tickets should be available soon for purchase at Nationals.com. 
