Remember back in the good old days when baseball was played without gloves, contracts or steroids? Neither do we, but for the love of all things vintage, the Queen City Invitational Base Ball Festival 2011 will be bringing us back to the way to game was played in 1869 this Saturday. Cranks, rooters, birds and bugs (or baseball fans, as we like to call them today) will be gathering to spectate as the Cincinnati Vintage Base Ball Club competes against four other Midwest vintage teams. They'll demonstrate how it used to be done, dressed in authentic Victorian-era ballist threads, to boot. If you didn't catch Conan O'Brien's informative and infamous interview with vintage ballists, the players and crowd members he catches on camera are major-league dedicated to producing an authentic 19th-century vibe on the field, complete with straw hats, bonnets and scripted back stories. The time warp isn't just affecting America's favorite sport, either. In addition to free admission to the games, Heritage Village will be hosting free open house tours. Catch the first pitches at Heritage Village in Sharon Woods Park at 10 a.m. with a picnic dinner and baseball skills contest to follow the final games.
Go here for directions and more info.
