Baseball, a tailgate party and other activities are planned for the first Veterans Appreciation Day at Cheney Stadium Aug. 31.

The event has been organized by a team of volunteers to show appreciation for all veterans, returning miltary personnel and their families. Each ticket purchased by fans will benefit the National Alliance to End Veteran Suicide (NA2EVS).

Family activities, food, live music, vendors and a raffle are planned for a veterans’ tailgate event prior to the start of the 7 p.m. Pacific Coast League baseball game between the Tacoma Rainiers and the Sacramento River Cats.

The tailgate will be held from 1 to 6 p.m. in the stadium’s north parking lot. It will be followed at 6:30 p.m. by an opening ceremony that will include Junior ROTC students carrying a flag measuring 13 feet by 18 feet onto the baseball field.

Tickets can be purchased at www.tacomarainiers.com/veterans (promo code Veteran). Admission includes the Wounded Warrior Amputee softball game, which will be played from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and the veteran tailgate event, organizers said.

National Alliance to End Veteran Suicide is a program of Veterans Family Fund of America, a non-profit organization. The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs estimates that 22 veterans per day die of suicide.

Additional information is available at www.na2evs.org/rainiers.