As a little girl, Jessi Little dreamed of singing the "Star Spangled Banner" at Fenway Park before her favorite team took the field.

On Saturday, that dream will come true for the 24-year-old former Coeur d’Alene resident who has performed the national anthem at Ironman Coeur d’Alene, Hoopfest in Spokane and at Spokane Indians games.

She will sing the national anthem Saturday at the opening of the Boston Red Sox game against the Tampa Bay Rays. The first pitch is at 4:05 p.m. in Boston, and 1:05 p.m. for those in the Pacific time zone.

"I'm just excited. I'm not nervous yet," Little said Thursday morning. "It's something I've wanted to do for so long."

A Red Sox fan raised among Red Sox fans, Little's time to shine means a great deal to the four generations of Red Sox fans who will be present for her big moment — especially her grandfather, Arthur Peter Brill aka Grandpa Arty, who is celebrating his 80th birthday this weekend.

Grandpa Arty was a career Marine Corps officer who attended Boston College. He’s a diehard Red Sox fan and his dogs are even named Bosox, Fenway and Slugger.

“All he wants for his birthday is to have his family get together to watch ‘our’ team play at home,” Little said. “Being a family that is spread out all over this country, I can say that the Sox have been an integral part of making the family feel closer. We always got ‘our’ Sox.”

Little attended Canfield Middle School and graduated from Coeur d’Alene High School and is now pursuing an acting career after graduating with her bachelor’s in fine arts from Texas Christian University. She now lives in Seattle. Her mom, Laura Little of Laura Little Theatrical Productions, is the former director of Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre and a Broadway producer.

Aside from this being a huge family fan event, this moment is even more special for Jessi and Grandpa Arty because they are the only singers in their family. They sang a duet together at a fundraiser when she was 11.

“It’s a really cool gift that I can give him. It’s something so special,” she said. “Knowing how many games he’s been to at that field and what it means to him … I think he’s going to be really proud.”

Jessi will return to the Coeur d’Alene area to perform in a reunion cabaret Aug. 20 at the Jacklin Arts and Cultural Center.