Night OUT at the Nationals Sets Ticket Sales Record
metroweekly.comRuPaul’s Drag Race winner Bianca Del Rio. She threw the ball to Screech, the Nationals’ eagle mascot, who was clad in a rainbow-colored jersey.
The entire ballpark was also decked out in rainbow-colored decorations. The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC performed the national anthem ahead of the game, and the lineup card was delivered by Team DC College Scholarship Program recipients Kai McFadgion and AJ Ingson.Duplex Diner general manager Kelly Lazcko, Team DC’s Community Support Champion awardee, gave the official “Play Ball” announcement to kick off the game.
The Nats’ “Racing Presidents” — four plushy mascots bearing the likenesses of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Teddy Roosevelt who take part in a foot race in the middle of the fourth inning of every home game — participated in a specially themed race.Prior to the game, DC’s Different Drummers put on a musical performance, playing several pop hits as part of their repertoire.
The group’s Color Guard staged a lively routine with white plastic rifles while the marching band played behind them. The longstanding Night OUT event, which will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2025, is the first and longest-running Pride night in Major League Baseball. “We’re very proud as an organization that we have longest running night out, of all Major League Baseball clubs,” Betsy Philpott, senior vice president and general counsel for the Nationals, told Metro Weekly.
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