Muncie Action Plan Seeks Public Opinion - That Means YOU!!

The Muncie Action Plan needs you! This is your community, get involved and make your voice heard as we identify what is important to Muncie's future. Come to one of five public meetings Dec.1, 2 or 3. See below for meeting times and places. MITS will provide free bus service to all the public meeting locations.

This may be the only plan that is being developed by the community, for the community through Public Input Meetings that will allow us to express our values and aspirations for Muncie.

Through a process of talking to fellow citizens in small groups (8-12 people) your thoughts will be captured and form the basis of a plan which will guide the City for years to come.

These meetings will begin with a full overview of the process and then break into small groups of 8 - 12 where you will share your ideas with neighbors and colleagues in a personal, meaningful, and directed process. All information will be collected by a facilitator.

The final product - The Muncie Action Plan - will serve as a blueprint for the future and will include specific - and implementable - action steps for short term and mid-term projects.This will not only capture the values and hopes, but provide an action plan, it will be the basis for planning for the City in the years to come. Part of this effort will identify priorities for spending Community Development Block Grant and HOME funds for the next five years.

Whether you live here, work here, or both; whether you have been here your entire life or just a few months - please don't miss this opportunity to participate in this exciting project that will guide Muncie's future.

Muncie Action Plan Public Input Meetings:
Dec. 1 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Hospital Auditorium
Dec. 2 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Southside HS Cafeteria
Dec. 2 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Career Center Presidents Room
Dec. 3 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Forest Park
Dec. 3 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. Northside Cafeteria

Visit the MAP facebook page, or cityofmuncie.com for more information.

This is a valuable and meaningful way to spend your time and we encourage you to make a commitment to attend. Please forward to everyone you know who lives, works and/or plays in Muncie!

Click here to download a PDF to print and post, or pass around.

You Are Muncie - Let Your Voice Be Heard!



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Farmers Market at Minnetrista Continues Through Winter

Farmers Market at Minnetrista will continue during the winter months, December through April, on the third Saturday of each month from 9 a.m. - noon.

Shop for delicious local meats, cheeses, eggs, honey, winter produce, baked goods, coffee and more! While you're here, visit the Orchard Shop at Minnetrista and try our fresh pressed apple cider. Pick up a Cider Club Card and buy 11 gallons and receive your 12th gallon free!

These special winter dates will be held inside Minnetrista.

For more information visit www.minnetrista.net or call (765) 282-4848.


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"A Time For Christmas" at Muncie Civic Theatre

Muncie Civic Theatre presents A Time For Christmas on the Mainstage Theatre, December 4th-6th, and 10th-13th. Thursday through Saturday performances are at 7:30pm and the two Sunday matinees on December 6th and 13th are at 2:00pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $7 for students.

This Broadway-style musical is an imaginative adventure throughout time where we learn the true meaning of Christmas. This is a story of hope and the opportunity to change one's life for the better. Audiences will experience music and drama that capture the wonder of Christmas for the whole family.

A Time For Christmas features live musical performances, under the direction of Dr. Michael Williamson, and a cast of more than 70 community members under the direction of Laura Williamson. Join us as we celebrate the holiday season!

Tickets can now be purchased online at www.munciecivic.org or by calling 288.PLAY or by stopping by the Box Office, Tuesday-Friday from Noon-6:00pm at 216 E. Main Street in Muncie.

Go online to www.munciecivic.org for complete season information.



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"Sanders Family Christmas" at Muncie Civic Theatre

Muncie Civic Theatre presents Sanders Family Christmas in the Studio Theatre, December 4th-5th, 11th-13th, & 17th-19th. Thursday through Saturday performances are at 8:00pm and the Sunday matinee on December 13th is at 2:00pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students.

In this sequel to the ever popular hit Smoke on the Mountain, the Sanders family returns to Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, home of the Mount Pleasant Pickle Factory. It's Christmas Eve, 1941. Reverend Oglethorpe has invited them to the Baptist Church to sing and witness, getting the congregation into the down home holiday spirit before the boys, including one of the Sanders' own, are shipped off to World War II.

More than two dozen Christmas carols, many of them vintage hymns, and hilarious yuletide stories from the more or less devote Sanders family keep the audience laughing, clapping and singing along with bluegrass Christmas favorites. Richly entertaining, this wildly infections musical brings cheer to audiences eager to see how their friends from Smoke on the Mountain have been getting along.

Tickets can now be purchased online at www.munciecivic.org or by calling 288.PLAY or by stopping by the Box Office, Tuesday-Friday from Noon-6:00pm at 216 E. Main Street in Muncie. Tickets are also available at the door one hour prior to the show for cash walk-in sales only.

Go online to www.munciecivic.org for complete season information.


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Muncie Children's Museum is Free on the Three

The Muncie Children's Museum is moving its Free Saturdays to the third Saturday of the month, from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., starting November 21, 2009 and going throughout 2010.

Free Saturdays began in 2006 as an outreach to offer families, especially those at-risk populations in our community an opportunity to visit the museum. Free Saturdays directly impact youth by providing educational exhibits and programs at a free admission price.

Since the inception of Free Saturdays in 2006, more than 18,000 people have taken part of free admission to the museum. So far, in 2009 we have welcomed more than 4,600 visitors through the doors of the Muncie Children's Museum during Free Saturdays.

Through continued support from Muncie-area businesses, philanthropic organizations and East Central Indiana supporters the Muncie Children's Museum has been able to continue our mission by providing free admission during our Free Saturdays for the residents of East Central Indiana.

For more information about Free Saturdays at the Muncie Children's Museum, visit www.munciechildrensmuseum.com or call 765.286.1660.

The Muncie Children's Museum was founded in 1977, as a hands-on, educational and innovative museum for children. The museum is aimed at bringing educational and interactive entertainment to the children of East Central Indiana. The museum's exhibits are designed to be fun, raise questions, provoke interest and stimulate curiosity. The museum is located at 515 S. High St. in downtown Muncie. Museum hours are 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday and 1 - 5 p.m. Sundays. Admission is $6 per person ages 1 - 100.


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Candy Cane Lane at Cornerstone Center for the Arts

Cornerstone Center for the Arts will be turned into a winter wonderland on Saturday, November 21st from 1:00 to 3:30 pm for the annual Candy Cane Lane!

Children can enjoy crafts, presents, entertainment, and visit with Santa. All children will get to visit with Santa and receive a free toy for the holidays! Last year over 1,200 visitors enjoyed this exciting event.

The event is free and open to the public, so come out and celebrate the holidays!



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Cardinal Greenway Hosts Annual Turkey Trot

Move your feet so others can eat! Cardinal Greenway will host the annual Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, Thursday, November 26, on the Cardinal Greenway. Registration opens 7:30a.m., Walk/Run begins 8:00 a.m. at the Wysor Street Depot, 700 E. Wysor, Muncie.

Cardinal Home Medical and Kohl’s are proud to sponsor the annual non-competitive run and walk. The event offers a variety of distances, refreshments, and family time.

Turkey Trot provides a fun, family-friendly event to show off the Greenways to visiting family and friends; not to mention a great way to build up an appetite – or burn a few extra calories before the big meal!

Pre-registration is $7.00/person or $12.00/family (family = living in same household). Pre-registrations must be received by 4:00 p.m. November 20, 2009.

Registration day of event is $10.00/person or $15.00/family (family = living in same household)

One non-perishable food item per participant is also required as part of the registration fee. All collected items will benefit Christian Ministries.

Registration forms are available at the Wysor Street Depot, Muncie Visitor’s Bureau, YMCA, and online at www.cardinalgreenways.org.

Turkey Trot is hosted by Cardinal Greenway and sponsored by Cardinal Home Medical of New Castle and Kohl’s.

For more information, please contact Cardinal Greenway at 765-287-0399.


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"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" at Muncie Civic Theatre

Muncie Civic Theatre presents "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" in the Studio Theatre, November 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, & 21. Thursday through Saturday performances are at 8:00pm and the Sunday matinee on November 15th is at 2:00pm. Tickets are $10 for adults and $7 for students.

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" focuses on an embittered academic couple who gradually draw a younger couple, freshly arrived from the Midwest, into their games of marital love-hatred. The play is a dramatic blood sport fought with words rather than weapons and is a powerful display of human nature. This was Edward Albee's first full-length play and his first to appear on Broadway, and is considered by many to be his greatest dramatic achievement, as well as a central work in the contemporary American theatre.


Featuring Tom Cherry, Lisa Etchison, Ryan Lash, and Erica Dumond as the cast with direction by Bill Wilkison.

Tickets can now be purchased online at www.munciecivic.org or by calling 288.PLAY or by stopping by the Box Office, Tuesday-Friday from Noon-6:00pm at 216 E. Main Street in Muncie. Tickets are also available at the door one hour prior to the show for cash walk-in sales only.

Go online to www.munciecivic.org for complete season information.

What: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

When: November 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 21
Where: Muncie Civic Theatre Studio, 222 E. Main St. Muncie, IN 47305

Who: Open to the public.
Cost: $10 for adults, $7 for students


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Lt. Governor Becky Skillman Welcomes the Heart of the City in Muncie as an Indiana Main Street Participant at Statehouse Ceremony

Lieutenant Governor Becky Skillman welcomed the Heart of the City to the Indiana Main Street program at a ceremony on Friday at the Indiana Statehouse. Indiana Main Street is administered by the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA). The program provides assistance to participating Indiana cities and towns for economic development efforts in their local downtown and commercial business districts.

"Viable downtowns are crucial to the economic health of our state, and we need strong business districts now more than ever considering the current economic environment," said Lt. Governor Skillman. "The Indiana Main Street program is creating opportunities for revitalization and restoration, as well as encouraging a favorable environment for businesses."

The City of Muncie will join more than 90 other Indiana Main Street communities dedicated to the revitalization of their downtown communities. Indiana Main Street is founded on a community-driven "Four Point Approach" to downtown development: organization, design, promotion and economic restructuring.

The Heart of the City in Muncie has been actively involved in downtown development for the past 10 years, completing projects like facade restorations, street renovations, and new housing projects to increase the downtown population, as well as hosting community events.

The group is currently working on projects like a public park and green space, as well as pursuing avenues to develop new business opportunities. The goals of the group are to continue redevelopment and economic growth, create a unified marketing plan, and use their historic heritage to establish downtown Muncie as an arts and cultural district.

OCRA's Executive Director David Terrell said, "We are honored to have the Heart of the City as part of the Indiana Main Street family. They know and understand the importance of a thriving downtown and have community members willing to assist in the revitalization efforts of their downtown. We are very proud of Muncie and are happy to recognize them today."


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Real Food, Real Indiana Expo Returns to Minnetrista

Join the Indiana Foodways Alliance at beautiful Minnetrista, on the banks of the White River in Muncie, for the Real Food, Real Indiana Expo, a big celebration of Indiana-made foods on Saturday, November 21st, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This is IFA's second annual Expo, an indoor event where you may taste, savor and buy locally made artisan foods just in time for the holidays and tour the exhibits at Minnetrista, the Ball Family's community center and museum. Sample sauces, meats, preserves, baked goods, coffees, wines, cheeses, honey, hand-made candies and much more.

Admission is $5, children under 12 accompanied by an adult free.

Minnetrista is located at 1200 North Minnetrista Parkway (left off Wheeling Ave.) in Muncie, Indiana, 47303-2925. Parking for the event is free.

Expo admission is just $5, and benefits the Indiana Foodways Alliance.


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Live Jazz Tonight at White River Landing Nov. 20

Live Jazz Tonight will perform at White River Landing this Friday, Nov. 20, from 6:30 to 9:30. The band will also perform at Motini's Saturday night from 9 to midnight. Live Jazz Tonight features the music of John Coltrane, Modern Jazz Quartet, Miles Davis, Thelonious Monk, Cole Porter, Gershwin and original compositions by Paul Rhine and Tim Van Cleave.

For more information, visit the band's website: www.livejazztonight.net.

Also, the Tim Van Cleave Project performs at Motini's every Thursday night from 9 to midnight. The group features Tim Van Cleave on vibes, Gabe Beach on drums and Paul Rhine on electric fretless bass and flute. The band plays the fusion music of Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard and others as well as original music.


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Harvest Moon Film Festival Rescheduled for February

The Harvest Moon Film Festival will now be held on February 11, 12, and 13, 2010, due to the large number of responses prompting festival expansion. The festival will now include three days of film screenings instead of two. The festival will also include more films as well as more opportunities to view those films, making it the biggest event yet. Films will be screened both at Cornerstone Center for the Arts and Muncie Civic Theatre.

The festival will also include an expanded community component. Not only will there be workshops about the art of filmmaking, but local community members can also take part in open auditions to be added to a community actor database that will be a resource for local and regional film projects. Anyone interested in filmmaking as an actor, director, screenwriter, crew, etc. will have the opportunity to be added to an extensive database for networking and collaboration in future film projects.

This will be a great opportunity to view independent films, learn more about filmmaking, or become involved in upcoming films. Visit www.harvestmoonfilmfestival.com in the coming months for details!

* What: Harvest Moon Film Festival
* When: February 11, 12, and 13, 2010
* Where: Cornerstone Center for the Arts and Muncie Civic Theatre
* Who: Open to the public.

For more information about the Harvest Moon Film Festival, call Robby Tompkins, Director of Education, at 765.281.9503, ext. 23.


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