Actor, entertainer to throw first pitch at BlueClaws game

Children with peanut and tree-nut allergies must often avoid baseball games, but this will not be the case on June 6.

Buster the BlueClaws mascot has fun with fans during last year’s nut-free game in Lakewood. The baseball team will hold its second annual game in support of individuals with food allergies on June 6 in Lakewood. The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) will host a fundraising event at the Lakewood BlueClaws’ game at FirstEnergy Park, Lakewood. That day, all items sold at the concession stands will be peanutand tree nut-free. In an effort to help protect allergic fans and in honor of all individuals with food allergies, the BlueClaws will have ingredients lists available for every food item sold.

Two New Jersey dads have agreed to throw out the first pitch for this nut-free baseball game to help parents enjoy a worry-free day with their children who have food allergies.

Frank Dicopoulos, best known from the long-running soap opera “Guiding Light” and currently host of the cable TV show “NJ Discover,” has been involved with FAAN for three years.

“Educating the public and our own children about food allergy safety is key, and gives us peace of mind when they are away from us,” said Dicopoulos.

Both Dicopoulos and his teenage daughter have food allergies. Dicopoulos has been the spokesman for the FAAN Walk for Food Allergy in Long Branch and has recently been named an Ambassador Who Cares by FAAN.

New Jersey entertainer Ray Andersen, who jammed with Bruce Springsteen in the ’80s, toured with Matchbox 20 and Meat Loaf in the

90s, and is now known to thousands of New Jersey kids as the children’s singer/songwriter mr. RAY, will perform during the seventh-inning stretch. Although Andersen’s family is not personally affected by food allergies, Andersen said he has met many parents who have made him aware of how serious and life-threatening food allergies can be.

“So many people whose children I entertain … tell me about what they go through,” Andersen said.

Andersen’s bookings manager, part-time bassist and several chorus members are each personally affected by food allergies. Andersen has donated his performance to the Long Branch Walk since 2008 and is scheduled to perform again this year.

To raise awareness of food allergies, the BlueClaws have reserved 400 seats in the same section for fans with allergies and their families and friends. Seats will be washed down prior to the game to ensure that there will be no food residue, which has the potential to cause reactions in severely allergic children.

The game against the Greensboro Grasshoppers will begin at 1:05 p.m. Fans are advised to arrive early to take part in Kids Expo and Zoo Claws Day, which will feature music, fun, games, and more. This day is also Kids Character Sunday and Kids Eat Free Sunday.

Tickets are $10 and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to the FAAN Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward a Cure in Long Branch, on Saturday, Sept. 11.

BlueClaws tickets must be purchased at least 48 hours in advance. For more information on purchasing tickets, contact Cherí Golub, walk chairperson, at 732-239-8374 or longbranchchair@ foodallergy.org.