DAPHNE, Ala.—The waves were crashing, brown lunch bags were unwrapping and Jim Armstrong’s smooth classical jazz sounds were carrying through the air Thursday at May Day Park at “Brown Bag By The Bay,” a bi-annual music series, as guests ate lunch at the beach.

“Brown Bag,’ which runs from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Thursday in April and May, is presented by the Daphne Recreation Department and Radio Avalon, a Mobile-based music production company owned by well-known jazz artist and DJ Catt Sirten, who hosted Thursday’s event.

“We are happy to offer such a quality and free program to our community; a simple program with a great impact,” city recreation programs coordinator Megan White said.

“Last spring, we often had over 100 people in attendance on a weekly basis,” she said. “It’s a program that combines Daphne’s love of music with the beautiful setting that is so often the image of ‘Daphne.’”

“We are also extremely happy to be working with the talented and community-minded Catt Sirten,” White said. “It’s a partnership, and a program, that we hope to be able to offer to our citizens for years to come.”

“May Day Park is just a magical place,” Sirten said. “We have this right here in our backyard.”

Sirten added that the event can raise community awareness about the area’s natural beauty.

“If we appreciate where we are, it improves our attitude,” he said. “It develops civic pride.”

Sirten hopes that the event’s inviting backdrop, May Day beach, will bring more residents to the park.

“Too many people that live here may never come to the park,” he said. “If we can get them to come out to this event, then it creates a very positive feeling.”

But “Brown Bag” isn’t just for jazz-enthusiasts looking to relax on their lunch breaks; it also lets schools teach music first-hand by bringing classes to the event.

“This is great because we have ‘Music Wednesdays,’ but that’s listening to a CD,”

Daphne Elementary School first-grade teacher Jim Ayres said. “This is a great opportunity because it lets them really experience the music.”

“It definitely exposes them to things they don’t normally get exposure to,” first-grade teacher Amy Csakvary said.

Ayres added that after the performance, the class  planned to comb the beach for water samples.

“This is why we live here,” he said.