To help kick off the summer season, Eastern will be hosting a celebration on the lawn of Old Main Thursday.

Live music, food, drinks and door prizes will all be available to the community from 5 p.m. until 7 p.m. Thursday.

Robert Martin, the vice president for university advancement, said in a press release that this is a way to extend Eastern’s gratitude to the community for making the students “feel at home in Charleston.”

“The party celebrates our continued collaboration between EIU and the community, but also provides an opportunity for everyone to sit back and relax with some good live music, food and drinks,” he said.

On the agenda of live music, the community will hear the local husband and wife duo the Freezelands perform acoustically. Martin said their repertoire will include a wide range of music from country to rock. He said they will perform songs from artists such as Patsy Cline to Adele and some “rock favorites too.”

During the lawn party, community members will have an opportunity to meet head football coach Kim Dameron and his staff. Martin said the party was the perfect time for the new head coach to update the community on the upcoming season.

“We know our community bleeds blue, and we wanted to provide them the opportunity to visit with all of our football coaches up close,” he said.

Parking for the lawn party is available at the X lot to the west of Old Main. The University Police Department will not ticket after 4:30 p.m. Thursday for the X lot.

Martin said by putting the party at Old Main, it is as if Eastern is opening its doors to the community.

“The live music, the natural beauty of the grounds and the opportunity to mix and mingle with the coaches, faculty, staff and friends is EIU’s way of saying thank you Charleston for being real Panther fans,” Martin said.

Bob Galuski can be reached at 581-2812 or dennewsdesk@gmail.com.