NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – The Savannah Bananas have taken over Harbor Park for three days for a sellout weekend that features their unique style of “Banana-Ball.”
The Bananas are kind of a traveling circus. They have sold out MLB stadiums on their current world tour, so quite the coup for Norfolk to land those three coveted dates.
The Bananas experience is finely tuned production. There is never a lull in the action and there’s music blared throughout the game. It is a little bit of stimulation overload.
From a player on stilts to a flaming bat, the Bananas brand continues to grow.
One of the biggest draws of the Bananas is their choreographed dance routines.
Most of the players on the Bananas and their opponent the Party Animals are former college and minor league baseball players, professional dancers they are not.
That’s where the Bananas entertainment teams comes into play.
Brenna Johnson is a 23-year-old recent Texas Tech graduate and she is an Entertainment Coordinator.
Putting these shows on demands a lot of work. The Bananas were on the field at Harbor Park at one o’clock as Johnson orchestrated dance routines to the players.
“Ever since I started working with them they keep getting better and better,” Johnson said. “They’re even more locked in when it comes to dancing so they’ve gotten really good at it.”
Danny Hosley played his college ball at Norfolk State, he’s on the Bananas and he’s fully embraced the unorthodox style of Banana Ball, dancing and all.
“I think they give us good guidelines and let us be ourselves,” Hosley said. “The personalities are all guys who are likeable and want to be here and give the fans a good show.”
The Bananas three-day run at Harbor Park concludes with a game on Sunday at 1 p.m.
