I created our first neighbourhood block party this year and hopefully this will be an annual event. To spread the word I knocked on every door on our street to see how interested everyone was. Once the date was chosen, I distributed printed notices with more information. I used the grant money to cover the cost of the insurance, food and drinks.
During the event we blocked off the street and created 3 zones: food/relaxing station/games. The food area had tables joined together to form one long table with food in the middle and chairs on both sides. This was a potluck event. The relaxing zone had chairs arranged in a circle to encourage conversation, and the rest of the street had game items (badminton, chalk, balls, etc.).
What I would do differently next time: I thought I could do everything by myself but it turned out to be a lot of work so next time I would create a planning committee. It would be nice to have a few of the neighbours get together and share their experiences with block parties. Another change for next time would be to create a group chat to connect everyone instead of printed notice. It turned out that some of the notices got lost and some neighbours were not able to join.
Overall, the feedback I got was that they would like to have another party next year. Many neighbours also expressed interest in helping out. I’m very happy with how things turned out. We made it a point to avoid using single use cups and plates and we were very successful at that as many people brought their own cutlery and dishes.
