My friend and neighbour Rachel Goetz and I hosted our 7th neighbourhood block party (We held the first one back in 2017.) on September 22th, 2025, from 3:30 to 7:30 pm. After a rainy morning, it ended up being a beautiful afternoon, and about 55 people (including 12 youth aged 17 and under), representing three generations, showed up with smiles and lots of conversations.
Block parties are a terrific way to meet neighbours, build a sense of community, show our PoCo Pride, and just have plain fun. The 3 best things about our block party were:
1) connecting/catching up with neighbours you don’t see often and meeting the new neighbours;
2) talking about what’s going on in our neighbourhood; and
3) sharing stories, good food and music.
We sent a few emails using our Block Watch Group email address. We also printed a flyer (image attached) that we put in each household’s mailbox, as not all of them are a member of our Block Watch Group. We also used word of mouth, text messages and phone calls.
Many neighbours helped setting up and cleaning up. They brought their own chairs. One of them went to pick up the street barriers and dropped them off afterwards.
Thanks to the Small Neighbourhood Grant we received, we were able to provide burgers (which our husbands cooked on two barbecues set up on the street), condiments, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, caramelized onions and pickles.
We asked our neighbours to bring drinks, snacks, appetizers, salads, desserts, treats, etc. to share. We also asked them to bring their own plates, bowls, cutlery and cups/glasses, reusable if possible, to reduce waste. We had the garbage, recycling and green waste bins set up as well.
Some provided tables, tablecloths, and canopies (to shelter from sun and/or rain). My next door neighbours set up a kids’ play area and handled the background music. One of our neighbours’ teenage sons Brayden and Rachel played guitar and sang a few songs for the crowd, towards the end of the party.
We have been fortunate not to come across challenges. It stopped raining in the morning, the sun and blue sky showed up and it warmed up just in time for the party. Many people helped before, during and after the party, like they always did in the past. Nobody ever complains about the day and time, the food, who is being invited, etc.
One of the highlights was that Port Coquitlam (PoCo) Emergency Fire Services fire fighters came to visit us on a fire truck (When you apply to obtain a permit from the City of PoCo, to host a block party in the street, you can request the Fire Services to come.). They demonstrated how to use the Jaws of Life and made one kid try it with a water bottle; then the kids hopped inside the truck’s cab; finally, they hooked a hose on the truck and we (adults and kids) held it and aimed at a stop sign to knock it down. That was a lot of fun.
Rachel and I gave at one point a welcome speech during which we thanked everyone for being there and helping, and mentioned the grant we received from Neighbourhood Small Grants and that went towards purchasing the burgers, condiments, etc. We also asked for their permission to take photos and have them posted.
What we learned by making this project happen again, is that no matter how our block party will turn out, if the format is similar from one year to the other (except when we get special visit, like the PoCo Fire Emergency Services), our neighbours will always be appreciative and looking forward to the next one. We’re still hoping that we can have a live band at some point.
We are still hoping to have a small gathering in December, to welcome the Holiday Season. We had a few small pre-Holiday events in the past and it put a lot of joy in people’s hearts.
Thank you again for believing in our ordinary but extremely connecting community event!
Suzanne L’Heureux 🙂
