Block Parties

Block parties seem to have all but disappeared in most parts of the country. There are still neighborhoods that get together and have parties, but not to the extent that they did in the past. Throwing block parties can be a lot of fun, but also a lot of work.

Planning a Block Party

Block parties require a lot of planning to be successful. It's not the kind of party you can plan on your own. For that reason, it's a great help if you are already friends with some of your neighbors and can recruit them to help with the planning.

If you aren't friendly with your neighbors, that is probably the first place to start. Introduce yourself to your neighbors and ask if they would be interested in attending or helping to throw a block party.

Post fliers around the neighborhood announcing a planning meeting a time to get to know neighbors. You might want to host this at your house and provide some snacks, or if you neighborhood has a community center or is near a library or other public space that would make a good meeting space, you can host it there.

Explain to your neighbors why you want to have a block party and what you envision the day looking like. Brainstorm with your neighbors and come up with a plan for the event, using the following questions as a guide:

• When do you want your event to take place?
• Do you actually want to block off part of the street, or could the party take place in people's front yards? Or use a neighborhood park?
• Who do you want to invite? The whole street, the whole neighborhood?
• What kind of food do you want and who will provide it?
• What kind of entertainment do you want (music, games, pony rides for the kids) and who will provide it?
• Are there any city regulations you need to consider when planning your party?
• Is there any interest in or need for trying to get corporate sponsors for your party? How will the event be paid for if you are planning something elaborate?
• What kind of decorations would you like?
• How will you take care of garbage? Restrooms?

Once you've figured all this out, you can assign different tasks to different neighbors. At the very least you'll need people to coordinate the following:

• Invitations (remember to set a rain date!)
• Food (which could be subdivided further into appetizers, salads, main course, desserts, drinks, etc.)
• Seating and tables
• Music
• Other entertainment
• Paper goods
• Garbage/recycling and removal of trash

Food for Block Parties

You'll probably want to keep the food for your block party pretty simple. Things that don't need to be refrigerated are ideal. A barbecue is a fun idea because families can pull their grills into the front yard and each can grill their specialty, giving you a lot of variety. Other families can supplement with side dishes, favorite desserts and other goodies.

Check out the Barbecue recipes and other ideas over at LovetoKnow Recipes for more ideas for easy block party food.

It might be a good idea to come up with a theme for your block party that will help you and your neighbors decide what kind of food, drinks, music, decorations and activities to offer. For instance, a Mexican-inspired soiree would suggest different things (seven-layer dip, Mexican beer, piñatas) than a tailgate-party theme (burgers and chili, football-throwing contests and flag football games).

Throwing Block Parties

Throwing a block party is a lot like throwing any other kind of house party, just on a larger scale. Again, it takes a fair bit of coordination for a block party to come together, but they are a lot of fun and well worth the effort.

If you have requested to have your street blocked off for the party, you can start setting up in the street as soon as the road has been barricaded. If you are working in individual yards you could start setting up the night before.

Try to ensure that everything is set up before guests arrive and that everyone knows the borders of the party if the street itself is not blocked off. Have an agenda for your party if there are specific activities that you want people to be present for, but be willing to be flexible. No party comes off exactly as planned, and block parties are no exception. Just go with the flow and have fun meeting and talking with your neighbors!

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