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The Old Washington Street Festival

The community gathers to celebrate historic Muncie

MUNCIE, Ind.---Over this past weekend, the annual Old Washington Street Festival took place in downtown Muncie. This event marked its 45th anniversary of celebrating historic Muncie.  

“[It] started as a way to bring awareness to historic Muncie and what it has to offer,” the event's chairman, Kim Miller said.

The event offers tours of the historic homes on Washington street, so that festival goers can enjoy the work that has been put into preserving them. Over time the houses on Washington Street have been renovated in a way that still shows their history with a more modern twist. “That is what the festival wishes to recognize, keeping history alive,” said Miller.  

Another way the festival chooses to highlight history is through their competitions. The beard competition is “a crowd favorite with multiple different categories [such as] longest beard, best mustache and overall best beard,” Miller said. 

The pin-up girl competition was new to this year's festival, as the organizers wanted another way to display history and to involve the residence of Muncie. Competitors wore traditional 1940s and 1950s pinup styles and judges focused on categories such as hair, makeup, outfit and overall appearance. 

“The festival is a fun event for all ages because there’s something for everyone,” Miller said.

With free entry and over 30 vendors, including local artisans and food, the festival brings the community together to celebrate the history of Muncie.  

Contact Saige Chandler with comments at saige.chandler@bsu.edu