It was a true community block party Friday night behind the Muncie Recycling truck.
The 400 block of Walnut Street in downtown Muncie was full of families sitting on blankets and lounge chairs, kids dancing with glow sticks and of course the projector on the side of the truck that blocked off the party.
"I just like to help give back to the community," said David Griffin who organizes Friday Night Movies for Downtown Development. "I just want the kids to enjoy it."
About 100 people came out to see "Toy Story 3," this week's show. In the last movie of the saga, Andy, now 17, is headed to college. The toys decide instead of being locked up in the attic, they'd rather be donated at a daycare. But after battling rowdy toddlers and a band of toys that rule the play place, the crew from Andy's house have to band together to escape.
Griffin said it was the biggest crowd he had seen all summer, except maybe the first showing in early June.
Elijah Gaines, 4, and his sister, Nyah, 7, were among the crowd. They sat wrapped up on a blanket with their mother, Amy, and agreed their favorite part was when the toys risk being melted and destroyed in a trash compacter.
Griffin leads a team of five or six volunteers who help put on the movies each week. He is also in charge of the sound system that played music like "Mambo No. 5" and "Cotton Eye Joe" before the movie started at dusk.
Friday Night Movies are free to the community. It costs about $200 to show each movie, Griffin said, not to mention the cost of concessions. The event is sponsored by an anonymous donor, he said.
Different groups offer concessions each week to earn money for their organization. This week, it was Yorktown Girl Scouts. Two girls were raising money for the Animal Rescue Fund.
The volunteer work was put toward completing their Silver Award, which is the highest award the 13-year-olds can earn. Criteria includes 40 hours of volunteer work, and Betsy Kemp and Alex Hornung decided to give their time to the animal shelter.
"It'll look good on a résumé and college applications," Kemp said. "We do anything they ask us to, mostly cleaning dogs and cages."
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