Neighbourhoods are not just a grouping of houses along a street or a block. Neighbourhoods can also be vertically oriented, such as a single or a group of condo towers. Last year we held a block party for our tower, 4388 Buchanan. We share a 3rd floor grassy patio area with our neighbouring tower, 4398 Buchanan. Some owners saw our party and asked if we could have a party together with them the following year. We thought that was an excellent idea as owners and council only meet to discuss things like cleaning the underground parking lot or which light bulbs to buy for the common areas. The block party would give us a chance to meet the owners from the other tower and build a stronger relationship for the future.
The block party for 4388 and 4398 Buchanan was held with the support of the NSG. July 20, 2024 a Saturday, was picked as it should be a sunny summer day and being a weekend day, most people would have the day off from work, so that more people could attend. To determine the number of people attending so we knew how much food and beverages to purchase, we put up a signup sheet in both tower’s mailrooms. We also put up signs in the elevators telling people about the block party and asking for volunteers.
Our condo building shares the same location as a Save On Foods store where many of our owners shop. Last year, we asked Save on Foods if they could offer us some of the costs associated with the block party, which they did. This year we went back to Save on Foods and asked if they could help support some of our costs and they again agreed. Both councils also contributed funds to do things like purchase a BBQ and games for children to play. Over 100 owners attended our block party.
A few days before the party, a group of volunteers met to organize who would do different tasks, such as setting up tables, chairs, putting up gazebos for shade, making name tags for people as they arrived, working the bbq, etc. On the day, the party started at 3pm. The volunteers started putting out everything for the party at 2pm so we were ready for 3pm. To help people get to know each other, name tags were handwritten when people arrived at our outdoor patio.
The day before the party, three volunteers went to Save On Foods to collect the donated food and beverages, which we then stored in both tower’s lounge, which have a fridge. On the next day, before the start of the block party we went to Save On Foods and bought perishable items as our fridges could not store all the food and beverages needed overnight.
The party went from 3pm to 6pm the next day. One volunteer arranged a playlist with music from the 1980s which we all enjoyed. We had two bbq’s going with one bbq coming from each tower. Hot dogs, veggie dogs, and hamburgers were grilled for the party accompanied with salads, fruit and vegetable platters, soft drinks, juice boxes and snacks. We all left the party full and satisfied. At the end of the party, members from both towers cleaned up the party area, putting away chairs, taking out garbage, etc.
The party was a great success. No block party was ever held in this building, 4388 Buchanan, for the past 20 years (until our party last year) and there has never been a joint block party between our two towers. The residents would like to have a block party every year. We spent all the funds from the NSG on the remaining food and supplies we needed for the block party. Thank you to the NSG for approving our plan so that we could offer this multi-tower block party.
