Foodie Friday is hosted by Muncie Downtown Development Partnership and Muncie Parks Departments at Canan Commons on Fridays from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm. Each week there are lawn games, food trucks, and music provided by someone in the community. Luckily, Muncie Downtown Development invited some of our Summer Symposium students to play.
Before our students arrived, we had a handful of families walking with their children and playing in the bounce house, with lawn games, or learning yoga that was provided through Lotus Studio. Pit Master Bluebird and Son BBQ was providing food for the people at Canan Commons, but some people brought their own lunch and set up lawn chairs to prepare to listen to our students.
Two of our divisions performed at Foodie Friday, which concluded the second year of the Summer Symposium Community Engagement Program. Our Orchestra division was joined this year by a band in our Jazz division, and each group performed 30-minute sets.
The students arrived carrying their music and instruments right before they were supposed to perform. Our students have a very packed schedule, so they walked right onto the stage as soon as they arrived. The Orchestra was under the direction on Douglas Droste, the division head of our Orchestra division during the Summer Symposium.
The Jazz band followed the Orchestra’s performance debuting as the first Summer Symposium Jazz band to perform at Canan Commons. Many students in the band has solos, and the director, Jeff Rupert, was an integral part of introducing the students as they emerged to play a solo and getting the audience to interact with them while they played.
Both divisions created a fun and inviting atmosphere for the people of Muncie who were at Canan Commons. This was the second year that Music for All was able to provide the entertainment at a Foodie Friday, and with the addition of Jazz band with the Orchestra, it really filled the crowd with energy. Music for All looks forward to working with Muncie Downtown Development next year as a partner organization to help grow our relationship with the Muncie community.
