Our street is a very long street comprised of new and old homes. The purpose of our party was to bring new and existing residents together to get to know one another, our families and break boundaries that exist between old and new neighbours. We planned on having a hot dog party but then I received feedback that a lot of our neighbours are vegetarian. We pivoted and had vegetarian chili and a bun instead. Our street is long and we wanted to limit how many cars were driving on our street, so we invited participants to bike over. The weather was fantastic, and it was wonderful to see 30 bikes parked on our front lawn. We wanted to hire a bouncy castle, but it was not available, so we bought a slip n slide for the children to slide on and a face painter came and painted the children’s faces. All residents were invited into our extensive garden to tour around it and cut any fresh flowers they liked. Some people wanted to sit outside so I have attached a picture of the neighbours enjoying chili and socializing on our back deck. This event was a huge success, and we have strengthened our bond between neighbours, and talked about how other people need support or are able to support eachother. For example, one neighbour said they are physically too tired to shovel their driveway anymore, but they have a ride on snowblower that they are willing to share in winter if someone would clear their driveway!
Thanks to the backing of the Small Community Grant Program, we were able to connect with our neighbours, break down barriers, and make a plan for the future support of others in our neighbourhood.
