Muncie residents will have the opportunity to support the arts and to have a picnic in the Quad this weekend.
The Muncie Arts and Culture Council is presenting the Festival on the Green on Saturday.
The event is a good opportunity for people to experience a different side of Muncie, according to Elisa McDonald, Muncie Symphony Orchestra executive director.
"I don't think people realize how strong the arts community is in Muncie," she said. "It's exciting to see these groups to come together and see what we have."
Local artists will set up tables to exhibit and sell art, she said.
Festival organizer and The Artist Within owner Bob Hartley said the festival is a good opportunity for local artists.
"It will give them a chance to get their names and art out to the public," he said. "Other art fairs have a steep booth fee, but we're not charging anything, so if they make money at [our festival], it will give them a chance to figure out if they want to go to other art fairs."
Hartley said various artists and vendors will sell jewelry, photography and other various types of art.
Several nonprofit organizations will also have booths, Hartley said.
"It used to be called Symphony on the Green, but in the last few years, MAC has tried to include more than just the orchestra," he said. "There's an outdoor concert, and people can come and bring picnics."
The festival will be very family-oriented this year, McDonald said. Children will have the opportunity to create model airplanes, have access to a flight simulator and get their faces painted.
Various entertainers will perform throughout the day, McDonald said. Sword swallowers, jugglers, the Hallelujah Chorus, Muncie Civic Theatre and belly dancers are among the performers. The Muncie Symphony Orchestra will take the stage at 7 p.m. and will be accompanied by the Muncie Ballet, she said.
McDonald said the orchestra's performance at the festival will be dramatically different than its usual performances.
"Typically at this event, we play music that everybody recognizes. It's classical, but it's music we all know," she said.
McDonald said the concert will be more relaxed and informal than people would probably expect.
"Typically, people think you have to dress up and that the music is going to be boring," she said. "This concert gives people the taste of classical music where people can say ‘Oh, this isn't so bad.' It's a bit of different taste that they may not have thought of before."
The festival will be the quality of a big city without having to travel and pay extra money, McDonald said.
"This isn't something you would necessarily see in Muncie," she said. "It's the festival you expect to see in a big city, without all the hassle, [yet] up to scale and quality."
Over 3,500 people attended the festival last year, McDonald said. As long as the weather holds, she expects the same number of attendees, if not more.
"If it rains, we're moving into the Ball Gymnasium," she said. "There's space and on a rainy day, who wants to stay inside [at home]?"
The event is free and open to anyone. The festival begins at 4:30 p.m., and the first performer takes the stage at 4:45. The Muncie Symphony Orchestra will perform at 7 p.m.
Performances by:
Ancient Arts Dance Studio
Cornerstone Center for the Arts
Hallelujah Chorus
Magic City Music Men
Masterworks Chorale
Minnetrista Theatre Preserves
Muncie Civic Theatre
Muncie Ballet
Planet Earth Singers
Strolling Circus Arts
Muncie Symphony Orchestra
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