The wintery air didn’t stop a crowd from converging downtown for Muncie Gras 2014. Clad in bikini tops, winter coats and everything in between, both Ball State students and Muncie residents brought their best New Orleans spirit to Walnut Street.
Acrobats, musicians and amateur and professional exotic dancers lined the streets and filled venues. Patient merry-makers waited in line for bars while others tried their luck with the mechanical bull, human bowling, go-go cage, Euro Bungee and zip-line.
“Last year was our first year,” said Cheers bartender Leigha Ayres. “We feel more prepared since we know what we’re getting into.”
The local watering hole began prepping for their 40-foot booth weeks ahead of time. The Cheers team began working at five in the morning, loading and setting up gear for the event.
The bar expected more than 1,000 people to come through, and stocked around 60 cases of beer and 60 cases of miscellaneous liquor in addition to their pre-made drink mixes.
“We’ve got like 50 people,” Ayres said. “We’re a big family.”
Ayres said Cheers was the first bar at Muncie Gras to serve “Jolly Ranchers,” a mix of Hawaiian Punch, watermelon pucker and sprite.
Cirilla’s Adult Store operated a booth with an erotic banana eating contest and a meet-and-greet with adult film star Dani Daniels. After Dark, an adult novelty store, partnered with Star 106.9 to bring dance and strip shows to their stage, featuring both male and female performers.
Both groups of dancers made the audience part of the show, performing lap dances, pantomiming sex and soliciting tips.
Through all the exotic dress and packed crowds, it’s still difficult to miss Gearl Stephens and his tall silver sousaphone.
Stephens plays for the Pork & Beans Brass Band, which proclaims to bring “that funky NOLA sound to Indy.”
Last year, Stephens, a former Ball State student, approached downtown Muncie with the hopes of playing at Muncie Gras. The band returned again this year and performed an hour set on the Budweiser stage as the gates opened.
Afterward, the band made their show mobile, walking through the crowd and playing their music.
“It’s a lot of fun being able to mix around, dance with folks and have a good time,” Stephens said.
While an overwhelming majority of partygoers may celebrate with alcohol, that route isn’t for everyone at Muncie Gras.
“This is the one-year anniversary of when I quit drinking” said Weston Morgan. “Now I’m just going around eating pig sandwiches.”
Morgan plays bass guitar for the band Apathy Wizards, which performed both this and last year. The Muncie Gras 2013 gig changed Morgan’s relationship with alcohol. After playing last year, he said he drank far too much, which got him in trouble with the police, ending in his arrest.
Now he enjoys the festival’s food as an alternative.
“I’m a sucker for fried pig, dude,” he said.
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