Our community association holds an annual picnic for its residents, at our local park, to celebrate the neighbourhood in which we live. We provide a bbq lunch with hot dogs, veggie dogs, drinks, ice cream treats, popcorn, cotton candy and watermelon. We also provide face painting, balloon art, bubbles and fun games with prizes for everyone. For the past 2 years a local Port Moody band has come to play which adds a lot of ambience to the day. The event is advertised via social media platforms and our community newsletter. We hold it on the first Saturday in July so it has become a bit of a staple on people’s calendars! It is a free event and has always been well attended with 150-300 people each year, depending on the weather.
Our planning committee meets early in the year to get volunteers from our homeowners/members of the community association. We have had the same volunteers for the past 2-3 years so we have been fortunate to have all the information & resources we need at our fingertips. As a committee we check in with one another every month to ask questions and see if anyone needs help sourcing items for the BBQ. We meet every week for the 3 weeks prior to the event just to make sure everything is running smoothly and to deal with any last minute details. Every year we add another game to the day. We have purchased giant Jenga, giant Connect 4, Spike Ball and last year one of homeowners built 2 sets of cornhole boards for us…they were a BIG hit with the kids.
As you can tell from the pictures, the event is enjoyed by everyone, the young and the young at heart. It’s a great way to connect with people in the neighbourhood as everyone leads busy lives so our BBQ allows people to get to know one another and make connections that might otherwise not happen.
