Walker Gala/Super VIP Night

Back at the beginning of May, we got all fancied up and went to the Walker School Gala. The Walker School is a non profit that my company does a lot of charity work for and the gala is it's big yearly fund raiser. My coworkers always rave about what a fun time it is (and for a good cause) so we decided to go this year.

The Intex Crew
We're just left of center. I'm in the black dress and Mike is behind me.

A big part of that night is the live auction. We got swept up in the excitement and went in with a group of folks to bid on an incredible Red Sox game package and we won! The package was (for a group of 10): a limo ride to the game, VIP tickets that included being on the field for batting practice, dinner and drinks at the State Street Pavilion, a private tour of Fenway park and much coveted tickets on the green monster! We also got a little bag of goodies to take home.

The big game night was the Tuesday following the Memorial Day weekend. One of the couples that bought in was unable to go and very graciously donated their tickets to the group. We scooped one up so that we could bring along my father-in-law, Tom, who dreamed of being able to sit on the green monster. My mother-in-law agreed to babysit and help keep the night a surprise from Tom. We told him we were going to a game but that was it. Boy, was he in for a shock!

I took off from work early, headed home and, just before the limo arrived, we presented Tom with a card with our itinerary for the night. I think he was a little blown away by the surprise!

The limo picked us up (only part of the group would be partaking in this aspect of the package) and dropped us off at Fenway park. We met up with the rest of our crew and waited until the Absolut Clubhouse opened up where we picked up our VIP passes and our guide for the night. He outfitted us with our super cool (but yet a little nerdy) passes which look like back stage concert passes (the plastic sleeve worn around your neck) and took us on the field to the batting practice.

I have to say, even though I'm not the biggest sports fan, it was pretty darned cool to be that close to some pretty famous faces. Unfortunately most of our time there was when the Chicago White Sox (the opposing team that night) was hogging the field but we did get to see a few big Red Sox players - Kevin Youkilis (YOUK!) and David Ortiz (Big Papi). Those also happen to be Dylan's favorite players since he likes saying their nicknames.

Tom and I on the field.

Mike and his Dad.

Youk

Big Papi

My Intex Coworkers (Gabbie,Scott,Colin,Me and Aviva)

Then we were escorted on a private tour of the field. It's not the first time we'd been on a tour of Fenway. We (Mike, Dylan and I) went when my friend Amy and her then boyfriend (now husband), Brad were here in September. But, there's nothing like Fenway park and seeing it before the crowds arrive just doesn't loose the novelty.

Red Chair - Ted Williams longest home run spot.

After our tour, we were escorted to the State Street Pavilion for dinner. From there, you get a nice view of the field and we got to watch (on screen mostly) all the pre game events. But, most importantly, we had an incredible dinner from the awesome buffet!

Our Group
(In the back right corner, that black blob is the back of the organ.
Yep, the live organ player for the game was right there.
We popped over and said hi while he played.)

After stuffing ourselves silly, it was time for the big event - the game! We were escorted to our green monster seats and settled in for a fun night at Fenway. Great seats, fun company, good game (well, we lost, but we made a good almost come back at the end that was exciting)...what more could you ask for?

Mike touching the Pesky Pole - right next  to our seats
(Note, thanks to loyal reader, Sean, I have been corrected.
It's not Pesky's Pole...that's in right field and this is the left field foul pole.)

Our View

Well, I suppose we could ask for more, "free" t-shirts, Red Sox baseball and little tote! We received our gift bags about mid way through the game. As you can see from above, Gabbie and I looked super cute modeling our new t's. 

After the game, we found our limo driver and started out on the long ride home. Getting through traffic around the park was tricky and it took a while to make it back home. It had definitely been a long afternoon\evening but it was a great experience and one that Mike, Tom nor myself will soon forget. Oh, and Nanna and Dylan had a fun time watching cars so fun was really had by all.