Community members and baseball fans can join the festivities Sept. 6 at Lindquist Field when the Raptors take on the Boise Hawks in Fan Appreciation Night and the Major Brent Taylor Foundation 9/11 Remembrance Ballgame, presented by the Ogden Raptors and the Standard-Examiner.

To summarize the night’s events: A baseball game ticket provides admission to a pregame concert, a major flag ceremony, a game that could decide if Ogden makes the playoffs, moments to honor heroes and fallen police officers, a DJ playing music later in the night and receipt of a commemorative glossy magazine.

Planned remembrances for 9/11 took on additional layers and meaning in recent weeks.

The lives of late Tremonton-Garland police Sgt. Lee Sorensen and officer Eric Estrada will be commemorated during the game after their shooting deaths Aug. 17 in Tremonton in response to 911 hang-up calls, a tragedy that also resulted in injuries to sheriff’s Deputy Mike Allred and his service dog, Azula.

Additionally, a car fire ignited a blaze on Aug. 13 in the foothills of North Ogden, which firefighters successfully turned away mere moments before it reached homes in the area.

“We don’t have a lot of wildfires in Ogden. We don’t have a lot of police shootings in Northern Utah. And yet, in the last few weeks, we’ve had all of them,” said Jennie Taylor, Gold Star widow, mother and founder of the Major Brent Taylor Foundation created to honor her husband’s legacy. “So we want to fly the flag. We want to tie the blue ribbons. We want to somehow show that we appreciate and support these men and women in their uniforms. …

“The best way we thank them is to be the kind of community members and create the kind of common space and neighborhoods that they’re willing to die for. That’s on us, right? That’s on us to make sure that we apply what they’ve offered us, that we make their sacrifice matter.

“For people to come together again and look for a way to express that grief and that gratitude together in a beautiful, healing way,” Jennie Taylor continued, “sporting events and gatherings like this give people space. … People need to come together, and when we come together, we’re stronger, we’re better, and then hopefully we leave events like this even more committed to making our communities better than they ever were before.”

A conversation between the newspaper, the baseball team and Ogden City Mayor Ben Nadolski eventually looped in the Taylor Foundation for a night the Raptors ballclub says is unprecedented in its history as all parties attempt to create a night of fun, community and patriotism.

“What an opportunity for the fanbase to come out and participate in something that hasn’t been done. We hope that they do, so this can be the first year of many to come to do something similar,” Raptors team president Dave Baggott said. “I don’t have any recollection of ever having a pregame concert, and with the (Taylor) Foundation involved … we’re excited about it.”

First, a concert by Colt 46 will play on the field at Lindquist Field from 4-6 p.m. Colt 46 specializes in old country music, staples of “Red Dirt” music and straddles the fence between country and rock “as if they built it themselves,” the band’s Facebook page proclaims.

The major flag ceremony, set for 6:15 p.m., is for The Major itself, the large, beloved American flag in the care of the Taylor Foundation to honor its namesake, the late Army Maj. Brent Taylor — the former mayor of North Ogden who was killed Nov. 3, 2018, while training a battalion during active duty in Afghanistan.

The Major, a massive, 150-by-78-foot fabric with the nation’s stars and stripes, has hung in Coldwater Canyon every November since 2019 to honor Veterans Day/Week. But it suffered damage last year, so on the field, The Major will be given a reassignment ceremony — in its repaired state, it will still make community appearances but will not fly again — and the Foundation will unfurl a new flag to take The Major’s place.

Nadolski will throw out the first pitch and emcee several moments and efforts during the night. One such effort will be fundraising; the Standard-Examiner will donate $5,000 to the Major Brent Taylor Foundation, and fans in attendance will have a chance to combine forces to beat the newspaper’s donation.

The foundation’s mission, it says, is to train future leaders; honor military members, first responders and their families; and engage communities in acts of service. These efforts include leadership training scholarships, flag missions, Gold Star Family honor trips, Veterans Week activities and the 9/11 Project — an immersive experience which has previously been displayed at Weber County Fairgrounds and this year will be at the Spanish Fork Fairgrounds from Sept. 10-13.

Later in the night (roughly 9-11 p.m.), a DJ will spin live music at the O-Town Beach Club from Lindquist Field’s first-base concourse to add energy to the night as the sky darkens and provide fans an opportunity to mingle after the game concludes.

Oh, and, don’t forget about baseball.

The Raptors are in the midst of a playoff push where every game could decide if they qualify for the Pioneer Baseball League’s postseason. Arriving home from a road trip to Billings and Idaho Falls, Ogden hosts the Boise Hawks from Sept. 2-7. Ogden, Idaho Falls and Boise are in a group of four teams vying for the league’s final two playoff spots.

“There’s a lot on the line,” Baggott said. “That’s the way the season is supposed to play out. So the whole night is exciting; it will be fun.”

Baggott credited Standard-Examiner publisher Jim Konig with lining up the concert and the logistics that entails, and Konig says the night has ultimately come together perfectly.

“It just snowballed, and we’re excited,” Konig said. “We get to publicly recognize people like The Major (Brent Taylor), the officers who have passed and heroes like that beyond writing news stories … let’s recognize these people who have given their ultimate sacrifice. It’s for things like freedom of the press and the overall freedom of America.

“We’re honored to be able to outwardly express our gratitude, and that’s how it came about.”

Ogden City, Weber State University, the Ogden Mustangs and the Davis Chamber of Commerce are also sponsors for the night’s activities.

Standard-Examiner editor Jared Lloyd contributed to this report.