For some people, fall break means getting back to family and friends; taking a much needed rest from school stress by getting away to relax and recharge. But, for some of us who aren’t lucky enough to escape for a relaxing getaway, there’s still some things you can do here in Muncie to unwind, and feel like you are in paradise, rather than Funcie.
This list may even make your friends who actually left campus a little jealous.
1. Farmer’s Market at Minnetrista
Every Saturday from June to October Minnetrista hosts a local farmer’s market from 8am-12pm outside on their grounds. According to minnestrista.net, the market features not only fresh, local produce but other fun handmade things like pastries, soap, hummus, noodles, and even fresh cut flowers and tiny succulent plants. Even if fresh, local produce don’t draw you in, you can grab a coffee from MUGS, an Anderson coffee shop, a mouth-watering zucchini bread muffin and explore Minnetrista’s trails, walk along the river, or check out The Orchard Shop which sells local, handmade goods, and a delicious cup of apple cider.
2. Twin Archer Brew Pub
Remember the Bran Brasserie? Well, a new restaurant (sort-of) has moved into its place in downtown Muncie. The Twin Archer Brew Pub is the rebranded restaurant from the same owners that had its grand opening on August 23rd. The Star Press says, It features some of the same menu items like the Chef fries: fries covered in duck, fat, maple syrup, garlic, and topped with a fried egg. But it also has new items to make going there feel like an adventure all over again. If you’re over 21, you can wash down your food with some local Indiana beer. Or if you are a 10-year-old at heart, you can play one of their classic arcade games and feel like you went home after all to visit your old stuff. Checking out this new spot can make you feel like you traveled away to eat somewhere new, without the regret of not being able to eat the chef fries again. Yum.
3. Planetarium show
Halloween: Celestial Origins If this weekend you need to fuel your inner nerd, you can check out the free show at the new Planetarium. According to the Planetarium site on the Ball State page, on both Friday and Saturday at 6:30, the planetarium is putting on a show about the astronomy behind Halloween. It’s an astrological holiday, who knew it wasn’t just about candy?
4. Son of Scarevania
Haunted House at Cornerstone Center for the Arts If you are already brimming with Halloween anticipation and you can’t travel to your favorite haunted house or corn maze, check out Haunted House: Son of Scarevania at the Cornerstone Center for the Arts this weekend in downtown Muncie. This is a haunted house meant for mature audiences, meaning it is primed and ready to scare the pants off anyone willing to walk through it. Plus, the event is a fundraiser for Cornerstone! Cornerstonearts.org says the event runs from 8pm to midnight on Saturday. Tickets are $12 at the door.
5. Dr. Joe and Alice Rinard Orchid Greenhouse
Community Artists’ Day Maybe you’re not traveling for Fall Break, but you can still feel like you are in a tropical paradise. The greenhouse page on the Ball State site says, the Dr. Joe and Alice Rinard Orchid Greenhouse on campus (located in Christy Woods), is open this Saturday for their free monthly event where you can come in and draw one of the hundreds of beautiful tropical plants they house. Even if you don’t want to draw, the greenhouse is fun oasis to tour! Try and find the turtle, touch the sensitive plant and watch it shapeshift in front of you, or see if you can feed a venus fly trap. If anything, it will let you feel like you took a tropical vacation, even though you didn’t leave campus.
6. Concerts at Be Here Now
Be Here Now has live music both Friday and Saturday night. According to The Be Here now Facebook you can check out the rock-jazz group Let’s Be Leonard from Sarasota Springs, New York on Friday Night, and some local Anderson, IN bands: ANITA, Jim Jones, Jr. Hells Orphans, Club Yeti, on Saturday Night.
