What’s recently happened?
Best Buddies first Friendship Fair was held at Community Park on May 25, the first official day of summer break. It was held by the Munster High School (MHS) Best Buddies Club in order to teach the community about disabilities and how to celebrate their differences,
“We reached out to many local businesses in need of sponsorship and were met with an abundance of support,” said Olivia Hughes, Best Buddies club president and MHS 2024 graduate. “In addition, Best Buddies partnered with the Munster Parks and Recreation Department to hold the fair at one of our local parks.”
In order to plan the fair, a team of Best Buddies members grouped together to plan and gather everything the club needed to execute the idea.
“After a lot of planning, and a lot of emails, we gained the support we needed,” Hughes said. “This event was extremely fun to plan. This was our first time planning an event of this scale, and we definitely had our ups and downs and made many mistakes. It was a learning process for all of us, and I could not have asked for a better team.”
The club had been planning the event since August of 2023 by reaching out to local businesses so the event would have activities such as food trucks, bouncy houses, live music, and games. Some MHS sport teams and clubs ran games at the fair. The Swim team ran the game “Plinko,” and the Culture Cuisine Club ran the “Pick a Pop” carnival game.
“Best Buddies is an amazing club,” Hughes said. “It provides a support system for members while providing a fun and engaging environment. I am beyond grateful for my time in Best Buddies. This club has provided a safe space for me to grow and be myself. All of the students, parents, and advisors are truly incredible, and I cannot thank them enough for their constant support.”
As part of the MHS graduating class of 2024, Hughes has to leave the Best Buddies community in new hands for the next school year.
“As I am graduating, I look forward to seeing what the new Best Buddies leadership team accomplishes next year,” Hughes said. “I am very hopeful they will continue spreading our message of inclusion to our community. I think having a new leadership team will be great for the club. It will allow for more ideas, opportunities, and growth.”
What’s coming up?
With summer kicking off, places such as Centennial Park are prime spots for community activities.
Munster as a community has been known to hold social events for the town and other neighboring communities for people to attend during the summer. Some activities of the past include movies, fairs, concerts, parades, food festivities and more.
Coming up on June 18 at Centennial Park there is a Movie in the Park night, featuring “Wonka,” which stars Timothee Chalamet as a young Willy Wonka. The movie starts at dusk.
Held at Centennial Park on June 21 from 7-9 p.m., there will be a CIVIC Friday Concert where the band Then Again will be playing.
On June 22, from 5-9 p.m., there will be the Region Eats Food Festival, which includes over 15 participating food trucks, at Centennial Park.
Another concert, held on June 23 at Town Hall, the Summer Concert Series, will feature the band Good Clean Fun from 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Finally for the month of June, on June 17 and 24, there are CIVIC Monday concerts held at Centennial Park from 6:30-8:30 p.m. featuring Hillbilly Rock Star on the 17th and Rick Lindy & the Wild Ones on the 24th.
Community member spotlight:
At the Munster branch of the Lake County Library, Librarian Georgia Geis sits at her desk in the children’s section or next to the checkout table, helping patrons in need of assistance.
“I think libraries are important because they are places that you don’t need to spend money to enjoy,” Geis said. “They are places where everyone is welcome. Libraries provide programs, meeting spaces, and so many different resources for communities.”
The Munster Library has activities such as the summer reading challenge, storytime hours, teen and adult clubs such as Dungeons and Dragons, book clubs, movies and more. Libraries like Munster provide many inclusive groups for any kind of person to join and meet others who enjoy the same things.
“Books can be so many things to so many different people, they can open imaginary worlds or they can reflect the reality we are living in,” Geis said.
According to Geis, in order to have new books and inclusive clubs, and to continue running, libraries need to have support and funding from the community. They can do this by supporting local legislation that helps to fund libraries and their programs.
“I love my job because I get to work with children and hopefully foster a lifelong love of reading,” Geis said.