John Beale, Post-Gazette photos
	People queue up to await the opening of the All-Star FanFest yesterday at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Downtown.
	Scott Myers of York, left, chats with former Pirates manager Chuck Tanner yesterday at the All-Star FanFest, Downtown. Mr. Tanner was signing autographs and posing for photos at the Major League Legends area.
	Anne Stadler, of Brighton Heights, takes a photo of memorabilia including the 1979 World Series Trophy yesterday at the All-Star FanFest.

All-Star FanFest is an event for father-and-son bonding like that of Stan and Shane Gillenwater of Rockford, Ill., who flew to Pittsburgh yesterday for "Field of Dreams" moments focused on catching autographs instead of baseballs.

The five-day extravaganza at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center is also for mothers and sons like Paula and Dante O'Connell of Uniontown, who were videotaped as sports co-anchors describing a Pirates victory (a real one over the Cardinals, at that).

And it's for a wide range of families, solo baseball lovers and male buddies like Charley Bove of South Park and Bret Agostoni of New Eagle, who chuckled at baseball cards of themselves they had just been handed, with MVP-like statistics on the back.

"I hit .363 two years ago, with 55 dingers. That's absurdly high," the 31-year-old Mr. Agostoni said, though hardly displeased that his abilities might have been vastly overestimated.

He and thousands of others enjoyed FanFest as a spacious, two-floor smorgasbord of rec center, museum and store, all treating the national pastime with the reverence prescribed by Major League Baseball. There was not even a hint of steroids controversy as the event entertained boys and girls alike, whether Little League stars or benchwarmers, along with the parents who paid $15 to $20 per ticket.

A fair number recalled attending the FanFest experience connected to the 1994 All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, and described this one as much bigger and better-organized, plus able to take advantage of technological advances.

By the thousands -- 100,000 or more attendees might come over the five days -- they hit, pitched and caught rubber baseballs with various levels of skill. They gaped at memorabilia like the Pirates 1979 World Series trophy and Ty Cobb's gnarly 1912 glove. They purchased merchandise like Roberto Clemente and Willie Stargell figurines ($25) and wished they could afford to buy other items like a Clemente-autographed 1969 ball ($1,500).

Few left empty-handed, as they carried baseball-related photos, videotapes and cards of themselves, made available at no extra charge at a range of exhibits. Some interactive displays were temporarily disrupted, however, by glitches in photographic and computer equipment. Many families found it worthwhile to have their own cameras with them. FanFest officials said problems should be ironed out by today.

Despite an atypical 90-minute wait at the Breakfast of Champions area, Jennifer Kopach, 31, left with a smile on her face, just like the one in the photo taken there of her wearing a gold National League All-Star jersey on the front of a Wheaties cereal box. Others were pictured on the cover of USA Today Sports Weekly before its technology malfunctioned in early afternoon.

At "You Call the Play," 30-something pals Frank Treemarchi of Bellevue and Sam Mastovich of Cranberry cracked each other up doing narration of Kirk Gibson's game-winning home run in the 1988 World Series, one of 19 choices of dramatic baseball moments.

Mrs. O'Connell, 48, will make an anniversary present for her parents of the videotaped sportscast she and her 12-year-old son made at the Fantasy Sports Desk. Taking turns smoothly on a TelePrompTer, it looked as mother and son had been working together, well, their entire lives.

"I loved it -- I'm a ham," said Mrs. O'Connell, who has revered the Pirates and baseball since Mr. Clemente smiled at her when she asked him in Spanish to sign something for her in 1972.

The O'Connell family holds tickets to Monday's Home Run Derby and Tuesday's All-Star Game, but that was not true of most in attendance. Many were happy to have FanFest as a low-cost way to take part in All-Star festivities and celebrate the game's presence in Pittsburgh.

"It's an opportunity that's not going to present itself for a long time," said Art McQuillan of Johnstown, still huffing after being edged by his 12-year-old nephew, Noah McQuillan, in the 90-foot race called Steal Home Challenge. "It's an exciting thing for Pittsburgh that you're able to share with your family, very kid-friendly, and at 45 I'm still a kid."

Jerry Pacuch, 47, of Leechburg, wearing a Cincinnati Reds Ken Griffey Jr. jersey, took a turn in the Home Run Derby batting area. He made less contact than his 11-year-old son Alex, however, facing a pitching machine and trying to hit balls over a wall 100 feet away.

"I'm rusty," Dad Pacuch explained.

Elsewhere, video technology enabled pitchers to pretend they were hurling toward major league ballplayers, and batters to feel as though a pitch was coming at them from the arm of Roger Clemens, the Philly Phanatic or other players. Lines required a half-hour wait for many of the attractions, and could be longer today with the weekend bringing a bigger crowd, but the waits drew few complaints.

Even the prospect of one or two hours in line failed to faze autograph-seekers, bringing their balls, photos and other memorabilia to Chuck Tanner, Steve Blass, Manny Sanguillen and others yesterday. Every day there's a new round of Hall-of-Famers and other veterans sitting two at a time at tables to scribble their names, and the Gillenwaters, ages 48 and 12, will return each day for them on their extended weekend trip, which will cost at least $1,200 for airfare, lodging and meals.

Encountering those stars and experiencing the rest of FanFest make for a priceless experience, said father Stan. The Gillenwaters should know -- they're at their third FanFest in the past four years.

"I grew up with these guys, and I've tried to pass the history down to him," Mr. Gillenwater said. "He's learned the game going back to the 50s, and he's got a real respect for it. ... These are memories I won't forget, and hopefully he won't either."

FanFest is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. each day through Monday, and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. For more information, visit www.pirates.com.