We had our 4th annual NSG gathering on Kirkland Street in June 2026. As Block Watch Lead, I felt that the neighbours on my street need to get together again, but do something different than what we did in the past. This time, I decided to do a Wonderland Tea Party, which is an afternoon tea experience. I distributed poster flyers to each house, so it includes neighbours who are not computer literate. There were 28 households invited to attend, and all of them were delighted to receive the invitation. With email and phone communication, the neighbours were excited and happy that we could get together again in our block. My family and I had challenges with time to not only prepare signs, balloons, and find barricades to close our street, but also organizing and planning the potluck party and sourcing neighbours who have tables, chairs, canopies and food. A neighbour stepped up and assisted with providing seeds so that every person on the block could have a plant to care for and grow. This is to teach sustainability to the children about plant life and how to grow plants.
Even though we are grateful for receiving the Neighbourhood Small Grant this year, I had challenges in getting more funds from local businesses to cover some extra food costs for 60+ people. Luckily, I received small funds from Safeway and Independent Grocer. And we received a small amount of VPD giveaways for our event. Other neighbours also assisted in helping set up, decorate and serve food to the large group of people. I was so grateful for their generosity and their time. Two weeks before the NSG Kirkland Wonderland Tea Party, I had difficulty finding a neighbour to volunteer with the plant demonstration, and no one wanted to do it. On the day of the Wonderland Tea Party, I decided to do the presentation myself. I show the kids how we plant seeds in a pot of soil. And with the help of a green thumb neighbour to explain what living lettuce is and the kinds of varieties there are. These living lettuce plants will help everyone learn how to use, eat, and plant the lettuce root, so there will always be lettuce in the garden all summer.
On the day of the event, the weather was very sunny but breezy. There was a large swimming event at Central Park, and I was smart to close off the street early to prevent cars from parking on our street. The street closure permit did not cost us anything. Unfortunately, our neighbour who supplied barricades in the past has passed away. So we had to buy or rent barricades. A couple of great women helped set up the tier stands with delicious mini sandwiches, scones with Devon cream and jam, and assorted sweets. By noon, everything was set up and ready for afternoon tea to socialize. Everyone arrived to enjoy our wonderful potluck lunch together. Connections were revisited, and I felt people enjoyed the event. We also had door prizes given out, which were generously donated by the VPD Block watch and a Kirkland Street neighbour. The Neighbourhood Small Grant allowed us to purchase food and some supplies to share.
There were a couple of neighbours who did not participate, but we hope that they can join us next time. Thank you, Neighbourhood Small Grant, for the opportunity to apply and receive the grant. Currently, neighbours are becoming more familiar with each other, and they have received more plant knowledge and a Wonderland tea experience. Many children wanted to do this again, and hopefully, we can.
