National Aboriginal Day will be celebrated in a “once in a lifetime” fashion on Walpole Island this year, as the Toronto Blue Jays are visiting the First Nation reserve.
A contingent from the Jays Care Foundation will be holding a celebration at the refurbished Austin Road ball diamonds on the first day of summer, Wednesday, June 21.
Lee Jacobs, who helps coach multiple baseball teams on Walpole, told the Sydenham Current he is thrilled to have the Jays coming to the community.
“They are bringing the whole show that they have in other communities,” he said.
“They’ll be having bouncy castles and toys for the kids, a big tent, FREE barbecue for everybody, all the Toronto Blue Jays swag, shirts, hats, stickers… music, there is going to be drumming and dancing going on at the same time. All of our teams will be playing scrimmage games against each other, while they’re here.”
Jacobs added: “They are going to video tape everything that goes on during the day and they are going to play it LIVE on the jumbo-tron during the Rangers and Jays game that night. A big celebration, a big ribbon cutting-type deal. We’re appreciative of their help.”
The Jays Care Foundation has been instrumental in helping Walpole Island fix up their baseball diamonds during the past year, Jacobs said
“They have supplied all the funds to do all of the fencing, we’ve already had money to do the infields, now we can play the day after it rains. A couple of years ago, if it rained on a Monday, we weren’t playing again until the next Monday,” he said.
“Everything else that they have given us has replaced our dugouts, our fencing, our canteen area, we’re suppose to be getting more toys for kids, more sitting room.”
He said plans are in the works to eventually fix up a third baseball diamond in the far corner of the property as well.
“By having three diamonds, we could host pretty much any sized tournament that we want,” he said.
“There is one tournament that I have my eye on, it’s the All-Ontario Native Fastball Tournament… this year it is in Moraviantown. That will bring in 55, 57 baseball teams, men’s, women’s, old-timers, and under 17 divisions. I would love to bring it here. Not only to show off what we have, but to keep fastball alive. A lot of people play overhand in Port Lambton, Wallaceburg… like the majors. All the reserves I used to travel to, are still into the fastball. As the the teams get older, it has to be passed down or it will fade away.”
The Sydenham Current spoke with Jacobs a couple of years ago and he expressed his frustration about working with Walpole Island’s Chief and council. Read the full story from June 24, 2015, here.
He said things have improved drastically and Walpole Island staff has been great with coordinating the event with the Blue Jays.
Jacobs said they are still working on a few minor details for the event, but it will be open to the public to enjoy.
Walpole Island staff told the Sydenham Current that promotional materials are in the works.
We’ll provide any new information and details when they become available.
– Editor’s note: This story has been edited as the Sydenham Current has been told there are no plans for former Blue Jays players to attend on June 21. However, the Blue Jays mascot ‘Ace’ is expected to make an appearance. Read the latest story, here.
– Photo credit: Aaron Hall
– Note: The Jays Care Foundation logo was added to the photo and comes from their website: http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/tor/jays-care/
What we need now is accomdations here on the island to keep revenue here on the island.
What is the time line of this event and is everyone invited or is it primarilary for the WIFN population.