If I’m being honest, our block party is hard to beat. 🙂
Every spring our neighborhood throws together a block party and every year is bigger and better than the last. Last year, it was scheduled just as everything started shutting down. The initial thought was to postpone it until fall. And then fall rolled around and we still weren’t in a position to gather so we pushed it off again. It had been two years since our last block party and so many new families had moved in and we hadn’t had a chance to meet them. In passing, I mentioned to a neighbor that we should look into having it this year. Time was running short until school got out and the craziness of the end of the school year. Wouldn’t you know, a few days later in my inbox, he had sent the email stating the block party was on.
What’s unique about our block is so many people have a specific skill set, which means everyone knows their role. I design the flyers and get them out to the neighborhood and on our facebook group. The balloon animal neighbor shows up with an apron full of balloons. The family with the cotton candy machine. The family with the popcorn machine. The snow cone machine. The candy cannon. The barrel train. The bubble machine. The bounce house. The speakers. The chairs and tables. The talented musicians. The 9 square. The classic cars. The large BBQs. The list could go on and on. Everyone shows up and brings something to share. (We rent the rock wall and the fireman and police come and show off their vehicles). Not to mention, there is no shortage of people to help set everything up and take everything down.
Some years we work and plan this event for over a month. This year, we pulled it off in one week thanks to a proactive neighbor.
The best part is everyone showed up. I met so many new people and connected with old friends, some I hadn’t seen since before COVID. And the kids ran around until the sun was tucked far beyond the horizon and their laughter was suspended in the air. It was magical. It was just like what you would see in the movies. It feels good to love where we live.
