Thanks to the generosity of Neighbourhood Small Grant, our group was able to have another great time at our 3rd annual Block Party held on June 27th. We picked late June this year as the weather is expected to be mild, and neighbours would appreciate less heat in late June. Also, our neighbours’ children would be off their school term, just getting ready for their summer vacation.
For the first time, we did not have BBQ this year. Instead, we tried a variety of ethnic food, well-balanced diets and pizza to be inclusive for neighbours of various backgrounds, and it was well received by all ages! Instead of setting up for BBQ and cleaning up the grill, neighbours had more time to circulate and connect with each other. We also had fun playing the corn hole game, kindly loaned from the Vancouver Police Block Watch program! Attendees were getting even more acquainted year by year. Neighbours of all ages, from seniors to young kids, all had a good time. Deeper connections are also being built!
Collingwood Police Centre (CPC) continued to be our wonderful support. A good number of their team members joined us and hosted an interactive ICBC “Do Not Drink and Drive” game to demonstrate the danger of drinking and driving. Participants were amazed at how wearing special effect glasses let us experience the mimic effect of distorted vision and motor control! CPC members also hosted “The World Cup Trivia,” which was also fun and intriguing, especially when World Cup events were already happening in town! Their multiple-choice and Q & A session regarding community safety kept us engaged. We learned about ways to identify suspects, to report and some misconceptions.
We had some neighbours who commented on how our townhome complex used to have certain security issues in the past, but through leadership and cooperation among neighbours, things have improved, and neighbours are getting increasingly engaged each year. This is encouraging, and we are determined to build a strong neighbourhood that looks out for each other!
Door-to-door outreach, posters, emails and WhatsApp messages continued to be effective ways to promote and inform neighbours about the Party. By knocking on doors, I got to connect with neighbours at a deeper level, build trust, and had more of them join Block Watch each year! Our sense of belonging and participation has been growing over the last few years, and we anticipate that it will continue to do so over more face-to-face gatherings like our Block Parties!
