Tea & Talk is a ticketed event.
- Tickets are $15.
- Participants can register before or on the day of the event.
Since 2014, Muncie community members have gathered for afternoon tea at Minnetrista to discuss history. At 3 p.m. today, "Tea & Talk" will be held for the fifth time this year.
Apart from tea, small snacks are provided to guests while they listen to a presentation about the historical figure or event being featured. After the presentation is finished, the group discusses the subject and presentation.
While preparing for this afternoon’s event, Jessica Jenkins, curator at Minnetrista, sorted through artifacts and other information in Minnetrista’s collection.
“I have to unravel a story and then put it back together in a compelling way,” Jenkins said. “I also always like to have visuals to go along with my presentations, so I spend time identifying images that help illustrate the story and then I put those together in a fun manner for our audience to look at.”
The host, collections department and programs department at Minnetrista meet to brainstorm different topic ideas for each "Tea & Talk" event throughout the year. Then, the host prepares a presentation so that guests will have talking points.
“Our Heritage Collection here at Minnetrista is comprised of thousands of objects and archival materials related not only to Ball Brothers Company and the Ball family, but also the history of East Central Indiana,” Jenkins said. “Needless to say, it is full of interesting stories and information, making it a perfect resource to cull for interesting presentation topics.”
For this event, Thomas Jefferson Brady, known by some as the “Thomas Jefferson of Muncie,” was chosen for several reasons.
“His story had not been told in this venue before, so it will be something new and interesting for our audience,” Jenkins said. “Second, I spent a large amount of time last year cataloging artifacts in the collection related to the Brady family — meaning that I got to know the members of the Brady family pretty well.”
Jenkins said the most important reason for choosing Thomas Jefferson Brady, however, is simply because he had an eventful life.
“He was an ambitious man who was involved in local business, national politics, and served in the military,” Jenkins said. “His life was full of intrigue, and that certainly makes for an interesting topic.”
Discovery and Engagements Manager Ashley Mann, who coordinates food, giveaways, decor and more, said that she is looking forward to this event because of how well a previous "Tea & Talk" went.
Mann said the program is a great opportunity for anyone in the community to delve further into pieces of Muncie and Minnetrista history.
Contact Elena Stidham with any comments at emfloyd2@bsu.edu.
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