Watch Free Red Sox Games at ‘Out of the Park’ Events

On July 27, the Common will be transformed into Yawkey Way. / Boston Common Photo via Shutterstock

Get your picnic baskets ready, because this summer the City of Boston, Red Sox, and Highland Street Foundation (a.k.a. the organization that brings you Free Fun Fridays) are teaming up to host “Out of the Park,” a series of free public broadcasts of Red Sox games at local parks, including Boston Common.

The new series is completely free and open to the public. All you have to do bring is yourself, though blankets and other picnic goodies can only help improve the experience.

Attendees will not only be able to watch away games on a large projector screen with other Sox fans, but they will also enjoy a taste of Fenway Park—they’ll indulge in free Hood ice cream and famous Fenway Franks by Kayem; enjoy live entertainment from Red Sox DJ TJ Connelly and the Hot Tamales Brass Band; and keep the kids occupied with Wally the Green Monster, face painters, stilt walkers, caricaturists, balloon artists, and giveaways.

The games, which will be NESN broadcasts, will also echo the drama of watching at Yawkey Way and Fenway Park with the aid of live game announcer Harry Mahegan and organist Josh Kantor.

“We’ve been working on this with the city and the Red Sox since about January. Putting on the three events cost about $100,000,” says Highland Street executive director Blake Jordan. “They really line up with Highland Street’s efforts to provide access to communities.”

If all goes well, the “Out of the Park” series will become an annual activity that Boston can look forward to. “We might even expand to other areas like Lawrence and New Bedford,” says Jordan.

For now though, batter up and mark your calendars for 2014. The three “Out of the Park” events planned for this summer are as follows:

• Sunday, May 25, at 1:40 p.m. at Ramsay Park at Jim Rice Field in Roxbury

(@ Tampa Bay Rays)

• Sunday, June 22, at 4:05 p.m. at Franklin Park in Dorchester

(@ Oakland Athletics)

• Sunday, July 27, at 1:40 p.m. at Boston Common

(@ Tampa Bay Rays)

For more information, visit highlandstreet.org/ootp. (PDF here.) In case of rain, the events may be canceled or rescheduled.