SAN DIEGO–The Padres return home Thursday for their second homestand of the 2011 season, which includes four games against the Philadelphia Phillies followed by a three-game series against the Atlanta Braves. Highlights of the homestand include Friday Party at the Park: Wine and Food Festival, the first of five College Nights this season and Easter Sunday activities.
Home action begins Thursday, with a 7:05 p.m. start against the Phillies. TaylorMade-adidas Golf Tour Staff Professional Natalie Gulbis will throw out the Ceremonial First Pitch. The pregame ceremony will also include a tribute to the late Jackie Robinson, as the team was on the road on Jackie Robinson Day, April 15.
Friday’s 7:05 p.m. game will be preceded by the second Party at the Park event of the season. Every Friday home game this season will feature a pregame festival at Park at the Park, including specialty food, drinks, music and other entertainment. Admission is included with a paid ticket to that night’s game. Gates open for all Party at the Park events at 4:30 p.m.
The Wine and Food Festival is a pregame tasting event featuring wines from more than three dozen wineries. First pour is at 4:30 p.m. Fans can purchase individual drink tickets for $5 or 3 tickets for $10. Tastings (approx. 2 oz.) will cost one ticket, while a glass (approx. 4 oz.) can be purchased for two tickets. Additionally, specialty food items will be available for purchase, including antipasti plates (3 tickets), dessert plates (3 tickets), a short rib & truffle mashed potato sampler (2 tickets) and street-style shrimp tacos (2 tickets). Limited-edition Padres wine bags will also be on sale for $5 or one ticket, with all proceeds going to the Padres Foundation.
Friday night also marks the first College Night of the season, presented by Chegg.com, the #1 in textbook rentals. College students are eligible to purchase discounted tickets to Friday’s game in the Right Field Upper Reserved sections. Those tickets, normally priced $13.50, are available for purchase at a 40 percent discount ($8.00) to college students with a valid school ID. Seating in those sections will be General Admission, so students can sit with their friends. A DJ will be spinning live music in the area from 6 p.m. until the end of the game.
Friday marks the 12th Annual Burn Institute Firefight Night. That night’s pregame ceremony featuring Padres closer Heath Bell will honor the Burn Institute and local firefighters who have raised significant funds to benefit burn survivor support programs.
The first 25,000 fans in attendance at Saturday’s 5:35 p.m. game will receive a Padres 6-pack tube cooler. Prior to Saturday’s game, local girls’ softball players will participate in a parade around the warning track.
Bring the family out to PETCO Park on Easter Sunday for a 1:05 p.m. game against the Phillies. Kids are invited to take part in pregame Easter egg hunts at Park at the Park, starting at 10:30 a.m. A very special guest is scheduled to hop by Park at the Park, too. The first 8,000 kids 14 and younger to arrive at Sunday’s game will receive a Padres fielding glove, presented by Topps Baseball Cards.
Prior to Sunday’s game, fans with tickets are invited to enjoy Breakfast at the Park. Special breakfast menu items will be offered for purchase along K Street at Park at the Park. In addition to seating at the Park at the Park, tables may be set up on the warning track, allowing fans to dine on the PETCO Park field. Field seating will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis, barring batting practice. Select gates will open to Season Ticket Holders with reservations at 10:00 a.m. Gates will open to the general public at 10:30 a.m.
From 11:30 a.m. to noon, two Padres players will sign autographs at the Park at the Park for Junior Padres Sunday Signings. A Junior Padres membership is required to participate in the signing event. Membership is free, and kids can sign up online or in-person on the day of the event.
Following Sunday’s game, kids are invited to take the playing field and put their new fielding gloves to good use as part of Kids Field Day.
Continuing Sunday is Aaron’s Aces, Aaron Harang’s charity ticket program, designed to honor the local military community and show appreciation for their sacrifices. Every Sunday home game this season, Harang will host 30 guests from the Armed Services YMCA to a behind-the-scenes day at PETCO Park. The experience will include a customized t-shirt and goodie bag, a private meet-and-greet in the Padres bullpen, complimentary tickets courtesy of the San Diego Padres and the MLB Commissioner’s Community Initiative program, and concession vouchers provided by Aaron and Jennifer Harang.
Monday, the Atlanta Braves come to town for a three-game series. Monday’s pregame ceremony will honor Combined Health Agencies, a federation of 25 local and national health agencies focused on making San Diego an even better place to live. The Padres Foundation will highlight and honor one charity partner per homestand again this season. Combined Health Agencies was selected as the second featured charity because its member agencies serve more than one million San Diegans each year.
Tuesday marks 2-for-1 Tuesday, presented by Coca-Cola. For nine of the 10 remaining Tuesday home games this season (August 2 vs. Dodgers excluded), fans can purchase two tickets for the price of one in the Right Field Upper Reserved sections. Tickets normally priced $13.50 each will be available for $6.75 each for those nine games.
The homestand wraps up Wednesday, April 27 with a 12:35 p.m. start against the Braves. More than 1,000 local school kids will be in attendance as part of Science Field Trip Day. Events kick off around 10:30 a.m., with a pregame “Fire & Ice” themed science show, courtesy of the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center
For more information, including a list of confirmed wineries, go to www.padres.com/wine. To learn more about the Party at the Park lineup for the remainder of the season, visit www.padres.com/PartyatthePark.
