Bring back the block party

For some time now I have wondered where all the block parties at.

Seriously, is there anything more beautiful than residents streaming onto the streets, fired up barbeques, kids running about in a totally safe space?
Maybe its a combination of the rainy weather, or the NIMBYism, or the culture of fear and overprotection of kids that has let the block party die. Did it even exist in the first place? Anybody older than their mid-20s reply..this is not a point I want to google only to find a million unrelated links.

I was recently talking to a buddy of mine- I told him that I wanted to bring back the block party. He was telling me about his time in Cuba, and apprently everyweekend that's just the culture. Swaths of people on the streets just having various parties in their respecrtive neighbourhoods. He said he never felt more welcom in his life. (Buddy, speak up and leave a note describing the awesomeness of the block party).

Anyhow, I did do some googling which involved "vancouver" + "block party". I can't believe I found this on the City of Vancouver's website:
http://city.vancouver.bc.ca/engsvcs/filmandevents/events/blockparty/

For many generations block parties have served as a way for neighbours to meet each other. Some block parties are organized around Canadian holidays such as July 1 (Canada Day) or BC Day in August. People may decide to get together because of an issue (such as traffic or vandalism) affecting the neighbourhood. Whatever the motive, block parties often lead to further gatherings of neighbours and may lead to neighbourhood improvements such as a crosswalk, new playground equipment, or a neighbourhood clean up campaign.
One does not have to live in a district of single family homes to be involved in a block party. Block parties can happen in common spaces in townhouse complexes, in front of apartment buildings or in a park near a condominium. A block party is simply a group of neighbours working together to organize an event for their neighbourhood.
Block parties are not costly to organize. Thanks to the cooperation of the City's Engineering Department and your local community centre, costs for insurance, barricades and permits have been eliminated.
This site is organized so that all necessary information, forms, and do's and don'ts are included. In addition, your neighbourhood community centre may be able to direct you to others who have organized block parties and can answer your questions.
So do not hesitate, gather a couple of neighbours, fix a date, and invite others to join in!


The site then goes on to give you 10 more reasons to have a block party (so if my post doesn't convince you, let the City), suggestions to begin organizing block parties, and the procedures and tips for holding block parties.
Residents dont' speak English? No problem, the city even has block party directions for you in 11 different languages. ELEVEN. (English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Punjabi, Tagalog Vietnamese, Somali, Farsi, Kurdish, and Arabic- Kurdish? good lord...sounds like The City really wants you to organize a damn block party!).

Okay now, lets look at the problems of this set up- if you see the website you start to see that it gets a little bureacratic. You have to get residents signatures, which I guess shouldnt' be a problem as they have to participate anyway), but then you have to fill out an application and then get it approved. bleh...it's starting to sound like work.

The problem with this concept of "block party" is that it's turning more into a festival than just a spontaneous, cultural, or routine event (those might not be synonymous but you get what I mean). I don't want to put on a festival or a big parade of sorts. That's what the PNE is for, and other festive holidays. No, I want the block party to become of civic culture. That we get a handful of residents to decide that they want to have a street get-together one weekend and the momentum of their energy encourages adjacent neighbours (redundant) to open up their doors and join in. Put out the lawn chairs (on yes, that huge ass lawn you probably never use), invite people onto your front yard property and offer them a beer (or lemonade..whatever). I know it kind of sounds fufu, but really, how cool would it be to be taking a walk in your neighbourhood one day and pass by a group of houses that had people sprawled about their lawns and they were so freaking warm and kind to you and asked you to join them, and it grew momentum until you had swatchs of people running up and down the streets.

So when I urge Vancouver to bring back the block party, I'm not talking about the WestEndResidentsAssociation car-free days (http://carfreevancouver.org/) although those are damn awesome (and happening on June 15th this year), but I'm talking about a general culture of partying on your block.

OR have a condo party. The trend is condos now, right? Fine, I'll go with that. Use your common room in your condo (if there is one) and invite the whole building. Potluck style. Everybody is going to bring chips but you could make it themed next time. How about cheese. different dishes with cheese. have a sign up beside the mailboxes. Can only list one dish once. Lactose intolerant? soy cheese- see? now there's no reason why you can't have a cheese condo party. OR a floor dish-off. Each floor can collaborate on a dish and the best dish wins... I dunno.,.. the best dish prize. The point is these things can be done and YOU must be the one to start it.

So go forth and organize a block party, or condo party. DO it. And then invite me. I'll bring cheese. RECOMMEND this Post on Progressive Bloggers CLICK HERE!