MERRILLVILLE, Ind. — For the second winter in a row, a crowd of 1,000 Gary SouthShore RailCats fans celebrated summer at the Radisson Hotel in Merrillville during Fan Fest, a fun-filled day of baseball that featured current and former ‘Cats players, a pair of celebrity guests and a handful of surprise announcements.

“What another great day for our fans,” RailCats President/General Manager Roger Wexelberg said.  “To have an even better response to Fan Fest this year is a testament to the connection our fans have to RailCats baseball.  We’re happy to have this event become a tradition that means so much not only to our fans but to our players, coaches and staff as well.”

A one-of-a-kind event in minor league baseball, the second RailCats Fan Fest built on the success of last year, recapturing a feverish RailCats crowd that lined up more than an hour ahead of its opening to guarantee some of the free giveaways and get the first look at The Stadium – Fan Fest’s main ballroom.  With ballpark games, several photo booths, face painting, a live radio broadcast on 89.1 FM, The Lakeshore, appearances from Radio One Communications personalities (including Mike “The Mullet Man” Summers and Tom Lounges) and even more, The Stadium was the hub of Fan Fest.

After the Opening Ceremonies, in which the 15 RailCats players and coaches in attendance were introduced one-by-one, fans broke out across the Radisson to take part in a wide range of activities.  Down the hall, RailCats players participated in hour-long autograph sessions throughout the day and taught five different baseball clinics for the future RailCats in attendance.  Players, team administrators and special guests Wallace Johnson and Tommy John also took part in lively Question and Answer forums, and Johnson and John each had their own autograph sessions back inside The Stadium in conjunction with First Midwest Bank.

Fan Fest was also a day of contests, with Post-Tribune Photo Contest winners Wesley Davis and Jennifer Santaquilani each feted for their submissions during the weeks leading up to the event.  Their winning photos were on display in the Hall of History, and they each won a free suite night at U. S. Steel Yard this summer.  The RailCats also held phase one of the RailCats Radio Challenge, presented by The Lakeshore.  Three finalists – Brandon Vickrey, Jordan Galligan and Mike Elledge – were chosen from a talented pool of more than 20 entrants to advance to the second round of the competition.  Each finalist will be profiled on www.railcatsbaseball.com and have their chance to campaign for fan votes in March on The Lakeshore.  The ultimate winner will get to broadcast a RailCats game this summer at U. S. Steel Yard and co-host a sports talk show on The Lakeshore.

As promised throughout the week, Fan Fest also ended with a bang.  As hundreds of fans stuck around for the Closing Ceremonies, the RailCats announced three major pieces of news.  Two will be finalized later this week, but the RailCats made their biggest splash last, signing former ace pitcher Willie Glen to a 2010 contract, a bit of news that drew a roar from the crowd when announced by sixth-year manager Greg Tagert.

The entire RailCats organization wishes to thank every sponsor, player, coach, staff member and, most of all, fan who made the 2010 Fan Fest a tremendous success.

With another Fan Fest in the books, the RailCats now turn their attention to the countdown to Opening Day, which is only 88 days away.  The 2010 season begins at U. S. Steel Yard, Thursday, May 20 at 7 p.m. against the Kansas City T-Bones.  Season tickets, mini-plans, flex vouchers and group outings are all on sale now by calling the RailCats front office at 219.882.2255 or visiting www.railcatsbaseball.com.