Dixon Little League's Second Annual Family Fun Day a Success

The second annual Dixon Little League Family Fun Day kicked off at 9 a.m. on a bright Saturday morning at Hall Memorial Park, with over 350 little leaguers ranging in ages from 4-14,  lining up for team photos before playing a game, and their parents reclining, taking pictures and grabbing a bite to eat on the sidelines.

With the introduction of a raffle and silent auction, as well as the triumphant return of the always-popular tri-tip sandwiches, this event was once again a success, raising funds to help cover the costs of equipment, umpires, and field maintainence for the program.

"We ended up with about 1,000 people out here today, and I think this raffle definitely helped out a lot," said Dixon Little League President Dustin Baumbach. "This is the first year we tried it. It seems to be a pretty big hit thanks to the local businesses that contributed all these prizes. They’ve been a big help in making this successful."

Some of the more lucrative prizes included a stainless steel propane grill valued at $2,400, and, for the silent auction, four front-row tickets to the A's-Tigers game tonight in Oakland.

Along with the sandwich and raffle stands, a cart across from the snack bar sold snow cones and funnel cake.

"They’ve added a few more booths out here," said Dixon Lion's Club member Stacey Davidson. "It’s getting bigger and better every year, and I think it will be a new tradition. People are coming to expect it, and when you come to expect something it becomes a tradition."

Parents tried to keep their children's uniforms clean until the team photo, then all bets were off. Roving squads of twos and threes played catch, ogled the raffle prizes, or munched on ballpark food until their team was up. Then, it was down to business.

"I think we have a really good event going on out here, and I don’t know how you could improve upon it," said Baumbach. "You’ve got great food and baseball games, what more could you want?"