Toledo Mud Hen’s fans were seen decked out in their cowboy boots and hats for the baseball team’s annual Boots & Baseball Weekend May 29 to May 31.
Country music, postgame fireworks, and line dancing are just a few of the activities fans experienced throughout the weekend.
“Everyone's happier when they have a cowboy hat on,” Taylor Vandenbroek, Mud Hens Promotions Coordinator, said. “Boots & Baseball really feels like a great way to kick off the summer season.”
Before Friday night's game, Perrysburg’s LinedUp dance school hosted free pregame line dancing in Hensville park from 6 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. A postgame concert featuring Noah Hicks started at 9:30 p.m.
Saturday brought the Boots & Baseball Festival in Hensville Park, with live music from Simba Jordan starting at 4:30 p.m., Jennifer Westwood and the Handsome Devils at 6 p.m., and Micahel Christopher from 9:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. There was also a fireworks show directly after the baseball game.
Sunday was what the Hens called the dedicated “junior day” of the weekend, with pregame activities geared toward families. Lucas County 4-H brought animals to Hensville Park and the “Giddyup Gang” from Laurel’s Characters and Co. were at Fifth Third Field taking pictures.
“All of our in-game elements will be very countryified,” Vandenbroek said. “Our mascots will be decked out and our staff will be decked out.”
Boots & Baseball Weekend started in 2024, with themed apparel drops from the Swamp Shop each year. This year’s country weekend brought a Hens-themed cowboy hat giveaway for the first 1,000 fans entering Fifth Third Field Friday and Saturday. Additional apparel can be found in the Swamp Shop.
“I think I've honestly gotten a new shirt for Boots & Baseball every year, so it makes it tricky to decide which one to wear,” Vandenbroek said.
For some musicians, performing in Hensville Park is not a one-time experience. Jennifer Westwood, singer-songwriter, said she and her band members were eager to take the Hensville stage again after their first performance a few years back.
“Hensville doesn’t have to have music at all, but the fact that they incorporate it and bring in original bands is really special and says a lot about the energy of Toledo,” Westwood said. “Toledo cares about live music.”
The Detroit, Michigan, native grew up listening to Gospel music, but became interested in the “traditional honky tonk” sound through her peers and parents. Westwood met Dylan Dunbar, the band’s guitarist, in Detroit and the two married in 2017.
Westwood said the band’s sound is influenced by Texas artists including Billy Joe Shaver and the band ZZ Top.
Additional members of Jennifer Westwood and the Handsome Devils include Dave Below on the drums, James Macphee playing bass, and Will Fogel playing guitar.
“My favorite shows are never the biggest,” Westwood said. “There’s got to be something a little special or unique about it and so Hensville was on my list. I personally think more and more people are going to start discovering Toledo and it has all the potential to be a music hub.”
Boots & Baseball is not the only themed weekend the Hens are hosting this summer. Rock N Blast is July 3 and 4, celebrating America 250, with the annual Margaritaville Weekend July 17 and 18, and Toledo Jeep Fest August 7 and 8.
Vandenbroek said hosting themed weekends is an important step in maintaining a supportive fanbase and encouraging “FANatical” experiences.
“We can bring the fans together, whether they showed up knowing it was Boots & Baseball or if it was a happy accident, they decided to come to that game,” Vandenbroek said. “We're looking to have people come down, hang out, listen to music, be downtown, and then go to a baseball game after.”