The Atlanta Braves may have gotten the better of world champions Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, but it was Bermuda that inevitably stole the show last Friday.

Rising singing star Laritta Adderley – a former New England resident smartly clad in Bermuda shorts, and the pulsating beat of the Gombey drum, enthralled a bumper crowd of 37,703 at one of Boston's most revered shrines.

And with the exception of the Braves' 8-2 demolition over the world renowned Red Sox, 'Bermuda Night' at Fenway Park on Friday was nothing short of successful.

The event jumpstarted what Department of Tourism officials hope will be a fruitful promotional drive to lure "upscale clients" to Bermuda from the core market that is the US East Coast.

And to assist them in achieving their primary objective, tourism officials have struck a partnership deal with Fenway Sports Group, marketing agents for the Red Sox.

JetBlue, which has a similar relationship with the Red Sox, has also formed a marketing alliance with the Department of Tourism.

"The sponsorship deal stretches way beyond Bermuda Night and all what you have seen tonight (Friday) is just one part of an entire season of sponsorship," commented Mr. William Griffith, Director of Tourism, as he overlooked proceedings from the comfort and privacy of one of the suites at Fenway Park.

To try and lure visitors from the Boston region, Bermuda ads will be televised on NESN (New England Sports Network), catchy slogans splashed across billboards and various other promotional activities to be staged at Fenway Park to promote the Island during Red Sox home games for the remainder of the season.

"Interestingly enough, we did a survey and discovered that it is twice as likely that this type of audience here at Fenway Park is a Bermuda type of customer," Mr. Griffith added.

Another 'Bermuda Night' is planned for September 8 at Fenway Park while the Island's charm will also be showcased during the USPGA sanctioned Deutsche Bank Championship, to be held at the privately owned TPC club in Norton, Massachusetts over the Labour Day weekend.

"It's all about the connections and the ultimate aim is increasing the awareness about Bermuda," Mr. Griffith said.

Funding for the various promotional schemes is to be drawn from the $650,000 set aside in the Department of Tourism's budget for this year.

As for last Friday's official launching of 'Bermuda Night' at Fenway Park, Mr. Griffith commented: "It was amazing and we were extremely pleased with the response. Everybody was after Glenn's (Press Secretary for the Premier Mr. Glenn Jones) shorts (Bermuda shorts) and I am really pleased tonight by the positive response we had."

Mr. Jones, who studied broadcast journalism at Emerson College located in downtown Boston, threw out the ceremonial first pitch and proved more than equal to the task.

"I didn't want to bounce it or throw it over the guy's (catcher) head, and so I am happy with the result," said Mr. Jones, who was later interviewed by NESN during the match.

"Because I used to live here I uniquely understand how important this team is to New Englanders and especially this stadium, which I actually refer to as a temple.

"Whenever you come into someone's temple you want to be respectable and get it right, and so a lot of the anxiety of throwing out the first pitch was not embarrassing the stadium and being disrespectful to the temple."

While Mr. Jones held his own on the pitcher's mound, past Bermuda Idol winner Laritta Adderley brought the house down with a soulful version of 'Star Spangled Banner' that just may have given the Atlanta Braves all the ammunition needed to gun down the home team.

The Red Sox quickly fell behind in arrears after Nate Mclouth dumped starting pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka's first pitch of the night into the Braves' bullpen for a homer. And they trailed the rest of the way to put a mild damper on 'Bermuda Night'.

"I felt quite comfortable and God has blessed me indeed," she said, with a big grin. "It was an amazing feeling and the crowd was awesome. I was pleased with my performance and had a really good time."

l For a fuller report on Laritta's performance see Lifestyle – page 28.