To cheer on the Red Sox as they begin the American League Championship Series and to celebrate their franchise-record winning season, the Esplanade Association, nonprofit steward of the 3.2 mile Charles River Esplanade in Boston, has collaborated with local company Sh*t That I Knit for a monumental tribute: on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 10, the two groups installed a 17-foot-wide, 7-foot-tall knit hat on the Arthur Fiedler statue.
Fiedler, the beloved longtime conductor of the Boston Pops, is honored with this statue for the role he played in bringing outdoor music to the Esplanade-a legacy that lives on today at the annual Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, which attracts an estimated half-million people to the park each year. The statue is located a short walk from the Hatch Shell Oval, part of the Charles River Esplanade, over which the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has care, custody and control.
“Two of Boston’s greatest traditions-Red Sox baseball and the Boston Pops-have ties to the Esplanade through the Teddy Ebersol’s Red Sox Fields and the July 4 concerts at the Hatch Shell,” said Michael Nichols, executive director of the Esplanade Association. “We are proud to celebrate the Red Sox and send our wishes for a deep playoff run by linking the two traditions with an homage as grand as Arthur Fiedler’s legacy.”
Christina Fagan Pardy, founder and chief knitting officer of Sh*t That I Knit, said, “As a Boston-based company, we’re very excited to partner with the Esplanade Association and root for the Sox. This was a really fun, creative project – a great way to show off our (newfound) arm knitting skills!”
Peter Fiedler, son of Arthur Fiedler, said, “My father was a Red Sox fan, and I often joined him at Fenway Park for games. I’m sure he would approve of the donning of a Red Sox hat, especially this year.”