To begin planning for our neighborhood block party, my co planner and I first took a survey to determine which dates worked best for people. We knew that with it being summer, people would be busy so we wanted to pick a date that would work for the majority of people. After we determined a date, we begun planning for the food and drinks we would need. We wanted to make sure that we budgeted appropriately to ensure we could spread the money out and make sure we had enough food or everyone as well as for entertainment like games such as cornhole and chalk and bubbles for the kids. About one week before the party, my co-planner and I did all of the shopping. We wanted to give ourselves plenty of time in case we needed to pick up some things last minute. Once we had our budget set, we delegating jobs to people such as party set up and who would be in charge of cooking. Leading up to the party, we noticed that the weather was looking questionable, so we also had to plan for shelter. A few people had pop up tents, so we had those on hand just in case and it was a good thing we did because we definitely needed them. On the day of the party, we began setting up tables, chairs, BBQ’s and other supplies in the Cul de sac a few hours before hand. Once people started to arrive, we began cooking burgers and hot dogs and had lots of drinks and snacks for people as well. We ended up having lots of food for everyone and the event great! Everyone had an awesome time, and the event was a great success! It was a great way for our neighborhood to connect and chat with people who they might not have normally gotten to do that with. Building a strong community is so important as it makes people feel safe and connected. We plan to make this an annual event!
