SUNDRE – The more tight-knit a community is, the more its residents are likely to be vested not only in knowing their neighbours but also keeping an eye out for each other.
With that in mind, the Greenwood Neighbourhood Place Society introduced this year a new community-building initiative that provides any residents who are interested with a tool kit that helps facilitate organizing a block party for the neighbours along their street.
Kim Free, who lives in Sundre’s northeast subdivision, had already been musing about the possibility of hosting a barbecue with a neighbour who had the same idea with the goal of better getting to know everyone else on their block.
So when Free saw a promotion about the society’s new program, she decided to coordinate her efforts with her neighbour and picked up a free tool kit.
“(GNP) put together a really nice booklet to kind of walk us through the process,” she said. “It made it really easy for us.”
Equipped with a tool kit that includes an information booklet on party ideas as well as town bylaws and any necessary permits with the option of reserving yard games, Free said several neighbours along their street met informally on the back deck at her place this past July to brainstorm options.
The first step, she explained, involved drafting up flyers seeking input from all of their other nearby neighbours – amounting to approximately 20 homes – including what date might work best for everybody.
“We made up some questionnaires and took them to all of the neighbours to get some feedback about what kind of activities they would like to see at the block party,” she said.
“We took that information and made our plans,” she said, adding the block party and barbecue with some activities ended up being scheduled for the afternoon of Saturday, Sept. 28.
Although not intended as an event for the entire community, the idea is to provide an opportunity to either create new connections among nearby neighbours or even deepen existing relationships.
“We’re just trying to bring the neighbours together and get to know one another,” she said.
Among the ideas discussed was having a babysitter sign-up sheet so parents and guardians would know who they could turn to in a pinch to look after the little ones, as well as the possibility of introducing a book club sign-up list, she added.
“The whole idea I think is, if you get to know your neighbours better, it cuts down on crime – we can all watch out for each other a little bit better,” she elaborated.
And knowing who lives next door or a few houses down also makes opening the door to some discussions that much easier.
“If a neighbour has a barking dog, we shouldn’t be shy or embarrassed to knock on the door and have a conversation with them about it,” she said.
“We want to just promote that aspect of bringing the community together,” she said.
“Because ever since COVID, we’re a little bit stuck in our own little houses and healthy communities really means knowing and developing relationships with your neighbours.”
Everything ended up going off without a hitch, with approximately two dozen people attending on Sept. 28 the first-time block party at 10th Ave. NE, including a couple who had just recently purchased and days before the barbecue moved into a home along the street and weren’t about to pass up on the opportunity to get to know their new neighbours, said Free.
“Kids and adults played frisbee, football, and tug of war together,” she said, adding “the weather was beautiful” to boot and that a couple of barbecues were rolled out onto the street offering everyone a chance to break bread together.
“The games and the popcorn bar, as supplied by GNP, were real hits!” she added.
Free also said she heard from some of the neighbours who attended that the block party was a great idea to get to know one another and hoped to do it again next year.
Arrangements to obtain a block party planning tool kit can be made by contacting GNP at 403-638-1011 or alternatively by emailing [email protected]. While a block party could theoretically be scheduled to take place at just about any time, all yard games must be reserved in advance.
