Visit The Small Town Of Muncie In Indiana, The Place That Inspired Hit TV Show Parks And Recreation
From April 2009 until February 2015, there was one television show on the air that captured the hearts and imaginations of Hoosiers everywhere. The show was the hit political mockumentary series Parks and Recreation, starring Amy Poehler, Chris Pratt, Nick Offerman, Aubrey Plaza, and many others, and it took place in a small (albeit fictional) town in Indiana called Pawnee. But did you know that Pawnee was based on a real place? Yep – the town of Muncie was the apparent inspiration for the series (and the map of Pawnee is literally just the map of Muncie turned upside-down and flipped over). Life in Indiana can be fun, and Parks and Rec showed us just that. Let’s take a moment to appreciate one of the best television shows ever… one that just so happened to shine a light on our little Midwestern State.
If you've never seen an episode of Parks and Rec, basically, it goes like this:
An ambitious young woman by the name of Leslie Knope navigates life as the deputy director of the Parks and Recreation Department in Pawnee (and is eventually destined to run for city council). When a goofy local man named Andy falls into a large open pit next to his girlfriend's house, she (the girlfriend) starts an effort to get the pit filled in... and the shenanigans that ensue go on and blossom from there for another several seasons.
There's no doubt that, despite some of the exterior shots of the town hall where Leslie and friends work being shot in California, Hoosiers noticed the numerous nods to our lives and culture throughout the series.
Let's take a look at some of these various nods. Sure, the show's been over for some years now... but it's seriously always (ALWAYS) good for a re-watch.
Oftentimes, when you see a beer on-screen, it comes from Dragonfly IPA by Upland Brewing Company... a local brewery that actually exists in Bloomington.
Oh, and remember Lil' Sebastian, Pawnee's beloved mini-horse? Bloomington had its own critter mascot at the time of filming. Lil' Bub was an adorable - if silly-looking - mini-cat with a face only a mother could love, although Lil' Bub didn't have an honorary degree from the University of Notre Dame.
One of the show's most beloved characters was Jerry, a wholesome man with some pretty bad luck who totally owned a timeshare in Muncie.
Know what else happened in Muncie (other than Jerry hanging out there every so often)? This small town in Indiana was the real-life birthplace of Garfield, the beloved comic strip lasagna-scarfing ginger feline. Comic strip creator Jim Davis mentioned himself that Garfield is based in Muncie... making Garfield kinda-sorta Parks and Rec's sibling, right?
Okay, perhaps not, but we digress.
In the show, the town has a rival: Eagleton, the richer, fancier (but totally definitely not in any way better for any reason) edition of Pawnee.
In real life, we have a playful rivalry with Yorktown, which is also totally definitely not better than Muncie for any reason. We'll die on that hill (even if the hill in Yorktown looks nicer).
So, sure, Parks and Rec might have ended a long time ago now, but that doesn't mean we can't still adore it.
After all, it put Indiana on the map in pop culture, and most of us enjoyed the time in the spotlight.
There it is: all the inspiration in the world for one of the best shows to ever grace our televisions – and it’s ours, all ours (cue sinister laughter here). If you ever want to visit Pawnee in real life, of course, there’s always the small town in Indiana known as Muncie, which is pretty much the same thing. While you’re heading over to Muncie, we’ll be over here… lighting 5,000 candles in the wind for Lil’ Sebastian (and Lil Bub).
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Tori Jane is a storm chaser, writer, photographer, and the village idiot - in that order. When she's not out and about dancing with the meanest storms on planet Earth for funsies she can be found wandering, shooting landscapes, writing, editing photos, and otherwise up to no good. Legend has it that she can also be occasionally spotted typing up short bios in the third person, but those rumors are unsubstantiated.
