President’s Message
The Block Party Toolkit document I have mentioned before is now finished and available through a link on the BWNA website (www.bwna.us). Many thanks to Dan Hahn and his helpers for putting this together. The toolkit walks neighbors through the process and city requirements for this type of event and provides pointers on how to make it successful. Organizing such a community event may seem a bit daunting initially but the toolkit provides step-by-step guidance, indicating how you can start small with simple group BBQ and slowly involve more activities as additional neighbors help with hosting them. As with any endeavor, getting others involved makes the tasks more manageable by spreading the effort through as many “hands” as possible and broadening participation on the block.
Since moving to the neighborhood several years ago, a number of annual block party-type events have come to my attention, the biggest of which is the annual July 4th of July Children’s Parade on Wistaria Drive (listed on the Newsletter Calendar). It brings to mind three great neighborhood environs I’ve been lucky enough to experience in my life: 1) Maple Street (Sault, Michigan), where I grew up in an extended family of 8-10 close neighbors informally hosting weekly summer gatherings of one sort or another; 2) Fairlane Street (Midland, Michigan)—location of our first house—where there was a similar feel with almost weekly get-togethers to celebrate some birthday or other occasion, even giving birth to “Big Chill” weekends that live on to this day 35 years later; and 3) Andover Drive (Valparaiso, Indiana), where six adjacent families stayed pretty stable as a group of neighbors for 20 years with too many holiday progressive dinners, porch wine and cheese, cornhole/bean-bag tourneys, pool parties and Halloween costume parties to recount.
I share these examples to underscore the point that your closest neighbors often form your strongest memories of any particular living experience. 30 years from now when you are sharing stories of your time in Portland, I’m hoping you will have ample tales of gatherings and neighbors to bring a smile to your face. Block parties can be a starting point for those memories and may sprout other opportunities for strengthening existing friendships and creating new ones.
As mentioned in the toolkit, let’s not forget another important benefit of block parties: making the immediate area safer. In my view, connected neighbors looking out for each other is the biggest deterrent to crime, a sentiment recently reinforced during a “coffee with a cop” dialogue at Starbucks on Fremont. It’s no secret that the police department is stretched thin, especially when it comes to responding to nonviolent incidents. But vigilant neighbors can be a big help in crime prevention by noticing something amiss, like odd-acting strangers in the area, coupled with reporting details like car plates or descriptions of individuals. Such information just might provide the strong link that leads to a positive outcome.
Block parties, along with all-neighborhood events like the BWNA’s National Night Out Picnic in Wilshire Park on August 2nd, serve to bond the neighborhood together and heighten awareness about assisting police with crime prevention. My personal wish is to have three new block parties take place in Beaumont-Wilshire this year, and you can help me attain this goal by talking with a neighbor or two about challenging yourselves to pull off a block party this year! Feel free to call on me for assistance in making your event a success.
So folks, let’s get out there and PARTY!