The idea for this year’s block party started while a few of us were watching our kids play outside. We wanted to bring everyone on our block street together, and meet the couple new families that moved in this year. The first step was picking a date.
To spread the word, I made a poster and put it up in a common area. Then, with a few volunteers, we went door-to-door to personally invite every household and make sure everyone felt included. To keep everyone organized, I created a Google Sheet to plan the food and track our budget. I also started a WhatsApp group chat, which became a great way for neighbours to talk and volunteer to help.
We did run into one problem: we couldn’t agree on the food. Some people wanted a BBQ, but we didn’t have a grill. Others thought simple hot food would be easier. It was a bit awkward for a while. Luckily, a neighbour offered to clean and use their big old griddle. This solved our problem, and we were able to have a BBQ after all! I quickly changed our shopping list to buy meat.
To make sure we stayed on budget, I took a day off to find good prices on meat. I spent the night before the party getting all the food ready.
On the day of the party, everything came together. Volunteers helped with grilling, serving food, and setting up a small pool for the kids. I kept cooking more food as needed. So many neighbours came! It was wonderful to see new people meeting others for the first time. It was also nice to see long-time neighbours who we don’t often see come out and join the fun.
This project showed me that good things happen when people talk and work together. The grant money helped us start something special. This party helped reinforce our Heather Street block community. We didn’t just have a party; we made new friends and got to know our neighbours better.
