While I'm really a city boy, one of the things I like about the small town in which we live is the number of community oriented activities that take place. Hands down my favorite, though, is the museum Island Party, the 20th Annual version of which was held last night.
The Island Party is sponsored by the Massillon Museum, and is held on the museum grounds and the adjoining municipal building plaza. It features live music and good food. I like it because it's great to just go hang out and enjoy the evening - admission is free, and it's a really mellow atmosphere.
This year the music featured the Jackson High School Steel Drum band and the reggae band Umojah Nation [Facebook]. In the previous years, the reggae band was Carlos Jones and the PLUS Band [Facebook], but this new (for the party) band was also awesome!
As we walked in we saw our friend Brayden manning the meat roasting pit, cooking up some tasty pulled pork and jerk chicken. For the first time that I can remember, there was a giant sand sculpture right by the entrance. The museum had been posting pictures for a couple of days prior, showing it being built. This is what it looked like completed:
The Island Party is sponsored by the Massillon Museum, and is held on the museum grounds and the adjoining municipal building plaza. It features live music and good food. I like it because it's great to just go hang out and enjoy the evening - admission is free, and it's a really mellow atmosphere.
This year the music featured the Jackson High School Steel Drum band and the reggae band Umojah Nation [Facebook]. In the previous years, the reggae band was Carlos Jones and the PLUS Band [Facebook], but this new (for the party) band was also awesome!
As we walked in we saw our friend Brayden manning the meat roasting pit, cooking up some tasty pulled pork and jerk chicken. For the first time that I can remember, there was a giant sand sculpture right by the entrance. The museum had been posting pictures for a couple of days prior, showing it being built. This is what it looked like completed:
We got our bearings, then got in line for the food. It was a tough call, but I went for the pulled pork sandwich with chips and the incredible mango salsa that the museum makes (well, presumably someone at the museum makes). I topped it off with a margarita and a soft patch of grass, and settled in to listen to the music.
When they finished eating, the kids went off to find the children's activities which were all eco-friendly - consisting of "bubble" activities. Also eco-friendly was the water. Instead of handing out (selling, really) water bottles that would be thrown away when empty, the museum had water bottles for sale for $1, and strategically placed water stations where they could be filled up. Cool idea.
This is me enjoying the evening, although I still didn't get the t-shirt. Have to rectify that one of these years.
