IWU hosts Taste of Marion

Indiana Wesleyan University hosted the annual event Taste of Marion on campus this past Saturday.

IWU students and Grant County residents attended the event alongside several businesses, churches and other community partners from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event also included campus tours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and a concert from IWU’s marching band at 3:30 p.m.

One of the community partners at the event was Director Mike Johnson of Life Center Counseling.

“Life Center Counseling has been in Marion since about 1986 and we have hundreds and hundreds of appointments each month,” Johnson said. “We work with anxiety, depression, marriage, kids and all kinds of stuff.”

Johnson said he was at Taste of Marion because he wanted more people to know Life Center Counseling is in the community.

“I just want people to know that we exist and we are here to offer our services to the community,” Johnson said.

Carey Services workers Tattyana Farrow and Darryel Hardy were also hosting a booth at the event.

“Carey Services is a nonprofit that serves individuals with disabilities,” Farrow said. “Our mission is to turn disabilities into opportunities.”

Both Farrow and Hardy said Carey Services was at Taste of Marion to find people who wanted jobs and were looking to volunteer.

“We’re the youngest in our job, so we are just trying to appeal to students and the younger audience here,” Farrow said.

IWU Transfer student Ryan Hornbeck attended the event.

“I did not really know anything about Marion before coming to IWU, so I liked the event because I learned a lot about the businesses, churches and different things to do in Marion,” Hornbeck said.

Hornbeck also attended the concert at the end of the event.

“Watching the marching band was a good experience because I had never seen them perform before and I thought it was a good way to end the event,” Hornbeck said.

Indiana Wesleyan University plans on hosting other campus community events such as Homecoming, Fusion and Spotted Cow later this year and early next year