Tribe Fest brings fans many memories

The Cleveland Indians held their annual fan fest this past weekend at the Huntington Convention Center of Cleveland. After moving throughout Downtown Cleveland for the past few years, it seems as if the Indians have found a permanent home for the Fan Fest. The open space allows for an easy set up and take down while allowing fans to have a wide area to explore different activities and events without many traffic jams.

There was a morning session for season ticket holders (8:30-12:30pm) and an afternoon session for all fans (1:30-7:30pm).

The expanded area allowed for many hands-on activities for the fans. These included batting practice, a wiffle ball field, bunt competition, and a throwing area. These featured the longest lines of the day, but for good reason. These activities featured current and former Indians on-hand for instruction. Fans were able to converse with their favorite players while showing off their baseball abilities.

“The hands-on experience that Tribe Fest grants is what makes it so special. It allows fans to get up close and personal with their favorite ballplayers, both past and present,” said Aurora resident Tim Tonsing.

The Indians also offered an area for young fans to play video games and other games such as foosball and cornhole.

“Watching Tyler Olsen play cornhole was one of my favorite experiences!” said freshman Nick Boehm.

The three American League Championship trophies in the club’s history were also on display for fans to take pictures with.

“Getting a picture with the three American League Championship trophies was definitely something I’ll remember,” stated Senior Jacob Blue.

Tickets were available for autograph sessions every hour and a half. They were broken into five groups and also included an alumni room. Each group featured three active Indians in which fans could get one item signed.

Other offerings included a team store, silent auction, and concessions.

The main attraction was the stage where fans were offered entertainment throughout the day. This included presentations, question and answer sessions, live game shows, and more. The Q&A sessions offered fans to interact directly with players while asking anything on their minds.

“I enjoyed listening to Francisco Lindor talk as he had many interesting things to say regarding his life and how he prepares,” stated Junior Ryan Stone.

Many memories were made as the Indians did an exceptional job to create player-fan interactions all throughout the day.