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Fans won't have to travel all the way to Toronto this weekend to watch the Atlanta Braves take on the Blue Jays on Saturday afternoon.

Front-row seats will be just a few miles away from Turner Field at the team's first Game on the Green festival at Smryna Market Village.

The event, which is free of charge, will begin at 11:30 a.m. and continue through the end of the 1 p.m. game, which will be shown on a pair of projection screens.

Hill Scott, the Braves' director of marketing, said his team has been working to put the event together for a long time. He sees it as an chance to further the relationship between the Braves organization and the hometown fans.

"It is such a great opportunity to kind of keep the fans engaged even when the team is on the road," Scott said. "We looked at different places around town, but the Smryna Market Village was just the perfect place because that area of Atlanta is growing so quickly."

Scott also said the choice of location was influenced by the number of families and Braves fans that call the area home as well as the availability of parking, shopping and dining locations. Organizers hope to draw 2,000 to 3,000 fans.

While the first pitch will not be until 1:10 p.m., Mitch Evans and former Braves second baseman Mark Lemke will broadcast their pre-game radio show beginning at noon inside Atkins Park Tavern.

There will also be special appearances by the Tomahawk Team cheerleaders and the Heavy Hitters Drumline. Fans are encouraged to arrive early to enjoy inflatable baseball skills games, face painting and prize giveaways.

"We are really going to try to make it feel like Turner Field out there," Scott said. "We are going to have a lot of things that you would see on the big screen at Turner Field, like the games that we do. Our goal is really to make it feel like we took a piece of Turner Field out to Smryna Market Village."

If all goes well, Scott would like to make it a semi-annual event. At this time, the New York Yankees are the only other professional franchise to have staged a similar event.

"We are just looking to get something that goes well for everyone involved and we would like to do it a least a couple times a year going forward if this is a success," Scott said. "We are just going to give it a shot and see how it goes. We are excited about keeping the Braves' excitement going here even when the team is on the road."

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