Villa Park Little League Opening Day Schedule

Opening Day Ceremonies

Saturday, February 24, 2024

Parade lineup starts in the Villa Park High School parking lot.

The parade is short route to the VPLL fields at Cerro Villa Middle School.

Teams will lineup on the Single A outfield for a brief ceremony.

Opening Day Ceremony

Each year, the entire league gathers in uniform at the fields to celebrate a new season of baseball, friends, and community. It is a terrific experience for kids of all ages to see and feel that they are a part of something big. The opening ceremony kicks off with the Pledge of Allegiance and is followed by a few speeches where parents and players are recognized for their time, commitment, support and achievements. During the opening day ceremony sponsors are thanked, as they help make the baseball league possible, and all Little League teams are introduced as the kids run off the field for the first time as a team.

Team Parade Details

Parade lineup starts in the Villa Park High School parking lot

• Come with your truck already decorated or you can plan to decorate it there in the morning. People typically put the finishing touches on in the parking lot and parents optionally bring donuts, coffee etc.
• Many teams elect to decorate the night before with a team party.
• Remember to bundle in layers because the day starts cold but should be beautiful later on.
• The players need to be in their uniforms but NO CLEATS for riding in the back of the trucks. For those who have the first games (9:30), plan to either drop baseball bags off in the dugouts prior to the parade or make sure to bring them to the fields for your child.
• Once the parade leaves VPHS, the players will not be returning for a while.
  
• The OC Sheriffs and Orange City Fire are going to lead our parade this year!
• The lineup will begin with the Challengers Angels and then oldest (Majors) to the youngest division (TBall) from there.
• The parade route will take us East on Taft, North on Center, West on Serrano and North on Nichols to end at the Cerro Villa parking lots adjacent to the basketball courts.
• There is plenty of space along the route for the parents to stand and walk to follow along. If you have family or friends along the route, be sure to tell them to come out and wave to the kiddos at 8:00 am!
• Once the trucks are parked at CV, players will be led onto the fields and greeted by VPHS' marching band. They will line up with their teams around the Single A field, where ceremonies will commence.
• The firefighters are not only leading our parade, they are also going to select a winning parade float! The team who is chosen Best Overall will receive a basket of goodies as their prize.
• We will also be drawing 2 winners from those who have sold and submitted their completed books of raffle tickets.
• We will be grilling Mattern's Sausages and hot dogs (for purchase, cash only) starting around 11:00 am and until 2:00 or so.  Every player in a VPLL jersey gets a free hot dog so plan for a yummy lunch on the fields. The snack bar will be open for business as well, accepting both cash and snack tickets.
• It is a good idea to try to meet as close to your designated area as possible, it's busy and crowded and not very easy to find your team without a meeting spot. Plus it will help with the flow of the parade if we are already lined up by division.