| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Libbie |
Posted - Mar 14 2006 : 1:09:19 PM
Do any of you hold or go to neighborhood parties - block parties or the like? I think it would be so much fun to have an area party - kind of like a mini-farm fair - to see if my community can become more like a "neighborhood" than some people who live around each other. Do any of your neighborhoods do these types of things? If so, how did they start? What types of things do you do?
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| 24 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 04 2007 : 10:53:02 AM
We have a big lot in our back yard that is overgrown weeds and sedge grass. Our downstairs neighbors bought a plastic horse shoe set. But I think it would be fun to dig out a real horseshoe pit in the sedge grass area (no one really uses it anyway). It would be tons of fun I think.
Alee |
| Rosemary |
Posted - Jun 04 2007 : 07:51:52 AM
Alee, what a great idea--do it! Good timing, too. It'll get your new neighborhood dynamic started out on the right foot. |
| Alee |
Posted - Jun 02 2007 : 2:58:30 PM
I just wandered through our farmer's market. Everyone was very nice and friendly. Nora got cooed over tons :)
It looks like one of our friends is going to move into the duplex next to ours and another set of friends is going to be moving kitty corner behind us! So all we will have to do is cut through our back yard and a neighbor's to get to their house. We are going to have to start some neighbor hood festivities traditions! Maybe we can do a big Fourth of July cook out! |
| Rosemary |
Posted - May 29 2007 : 12:57:09 PM
Rachel, that reminds me that when I still lived in suburbia, I would round up a couple of neighbors every year for a Memorial Day yard sale. It was quite an event and really was friendly. We ran a cheap classified ad in the big city daily newspaper and I made giant yellow mat board signs on which I painted YD SL in giant black letters, plus an arrow poi nting in the appropriate direction for several predetermined locations. Those signs were an annual landmark! It was so much fun. I got grocery bags donated by the A&P, and while there, converted $40 into coins and dollar bills for change-making in the early hours when "customers" often paid with twenties. Some of the neighbors made iced tea and lemonade. One year we had a grill going with veggie or kosher hot dogs. After the first three years of doing this, we all knew it would be a regular thing, and we'd all save up stuff throughout the year for the big yard sale. I never made less than $600 at our Memorial Day sale -- an awful lot of it on honest-to-=God junk like bags of odd screws and nails, half-empty cans of paint and things like that. (The men made beelines for that stuff!) There was also a big call for towels, bed linens, mismatched dishes and the kinds of things rich folks want to furnish their summer cottages -- that's what we assumed the people who pulled up in Cadillacs for such items had in mind for them! I encourage everyone living in a suburban-style community, or in a town/city to consider an event like that. Everybody has something to do, so it's not too tiring, and you often make friends from right on the street that you might never have met otherwise. |
| RachelLeigh |
Posted - May 29 2007 : 12:30:22 PM
Hubby and I just moved onto our street in Feb. but the neighbors told us that every July 4th, they block off our street and have a block party on the cul-de-sac. All the neighbors grill out and set up tables of food in front of their houses and the kids set off fireworks in the cul-de-sac. It sounds really fun....but my dog hates fireworks!
check out my blog: http://catholiccountrygirl.wordpress.com |
| BotanicalBath |
Posted - May 29 2007 : 09:55:13 AM
I wish our neighborhood was that friendly. The church does have events like this across the street, but we are usually on our way out of town to see family when they have them.
E-
BotanicalBath@peoplepc.com
www.Botanical-Bath.com
"I do my housework in the nude. It gives me an incentive to clean the mirrors as quickly as possible." |
| Rosemary |
Posted - May 29 2007 : 09:04:10 AM
Our twice-weekly Farmers Market is sort of like a festival. I love it! Although I don't have a booth myself, I have friends who do, and I enjoy helping them when they need a break. What a wonderful way to keep up with townsfolk and country friends we don't get to see enough of. Folks bring their dogs (on leashes, of course), and strollers full of babies to show off. When there's an election (and there always seems to be one coming up in our neck of the woods), the candidates are out and about, talking up their issues -- genteel disagreements ensue. Sometimes a musician will show up with a guitar or banjo and just walk around playing for handouts of sauteed mushrooms, lemonade, or whatever goodies there are. The County Agricultural Agent has a booth, and there are always new things to learn from them.
Our nearest town has an actual annual festival, but it's mostly just non-local vendors. Main Street gets closed off for several blocks, which effectively shuts down the whole town for the duration, meaning that a lot of stores lose money. The rose garden I keep outside my Old Town office space often gets pillaged for specimens by thoughtless people...in other words, PHOOEY! The Town doesn't even make any money off the festival. It's all a business proposition for the guys who put it on. I much prefer the smaller, more comradely Farmers Market. |
| Libbie |
Posted - Mar 28 2007 : 9:38:05 PM
Ding! You've got mail!!!
XOXO, Libbie
"All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar..." - Helen Hayes |
| TheSoapMaven |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 01:53:15 AM
Hey Libbie~ Trying to get hold of you!! Last ditch effort here!! Give me a ring or email - my emails to you are bouncing...
Susan
http://www.thesoapmaven.com
http://notquitejunecleaver.com
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| Libbie |
Posted - Mar 27 2007 : 12:24:36 AM
It's SO windy here tonight - I think the right thing might be to hold an April kite festival at our farm! Or at least have a neighborhood "kite flight" party -- just an idea for all of us windy-springed farmgirls!
XOXO, Libbie
"All through the long winter, I dream of my garden. On the first day of spring, I dig my fingers deep into the soft earth. I can feel its energy, and my spirits soar..." - Helen Hayes |
| Bluewrenn |
Posted - Dec 04 2006 : 07:06:57 AM
When I was a kid, we lived out all by ourselves and we used to do our own "neighborhood festivals"... We made up some carnival games (milk bottle toss, pitching dimes into a saucer, ring toss, etc...), did our own decorations, and then made lemonade and koolade to sell and popcorn in little bags and brownies, and then we invited our friends to come to our carnival. We even had a petting zoo, and gave pony rides.
It's easy to do a homemade carnival... just make sure every family has a "booth" to do, so that they all feel invested in it, otherwise it's too easy for them to criticize and not be connected with the fun.
My Homesteading Journal http://toomyvara.livejournal.com
My craft journal http://bluewrenn.livejournal.com
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| Libbie |
Posted - Dec 02 2006 : 5:29:13 PM
Our town is having a Christmas Party!!!! I'm so excited - I'm helping to organize it, and we're doing a town-wide potluck and "Santa" is making an appearance for the kids. It should be really fun, and I can't wait to see how many people make it. I hope everyone does. Your experiences have made me more confident in organizing this one and SOOoooooo excited to see how it turns out. Thanks!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| Libbie |
Posted - Nov 21 2006 : 9:53:36 PM
Brenda and Bramble - those sound like the type of neighborhoods and town coulcils that I'd like to be a part of! Thanks for the ideas and the visions - I just KNOW there's a way to make our little town more "friendly" and "neighborly..."
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| bramble |
Posted - Nov 14 2006 : 6:18:59 PM
Where we used to live had alot of fun neighborly things going on all year.
When we first moved in we were told that there was a mandatory meeting at the house of the "Queen Bee" on Sunday and we would be wise not to be late! That didn't sound very neighborly but we were young and open minded. Turns out the "Queen Bee" hosted a huge brunch to welcome any new neighbors and let us get to know the neighbors and activities our street participated in. This was part of a historic district in town and we decorated each house for the 12 days of Christmas.( Us? 10 Lords A Leaping!) Certain nights we put out luminarias and the street became pedestrian only. We would hear families caroling down the street until New Years Day. In January if the canal froze we would hang lanterns, invite friends and every house on the water provided a snack, dessert or beverage while everyone skated. We nearly had a heart attack when 83 yr. old Queen Bee strapped on skates and was better than all of us! In the early summer we had a block party after a day of The Greatest Yard Sales Ever! Fall brought Harvest Day which was a huge craft/artisan market set up on our street and Main Street which was always fun. (Except for the year a complete stranger walked into our house and asked where the coffee was!) I asked if we could do a progressive dinner and that became a yearly event. We started out going from the top of the street to the bottom but after a year or two we mixed it up and people drew tickets for whatever course they got.We still get invites but have only been able to attend a few. I still miss those neighbors even though we were by far the youngest people living there. It was like being surrounded with extra grandparents and favorite Aunts and Uncles. When my son was born there hadn't been a new baby on the street for 14 years so he was far from neglected. I would hear a knock on the door and someone would come in and tell me to take a break, get something done, they had an hour or 2 to kill and would be happy to watch the baby! I loved those people and I have only met a few like that here where I live now...just sad, but people are too busy. I once heard a woman at a PTA meeting say "I am too busy to make new friends, I just can't be bothered with trying to figure out new people!" Bad enough she felt that way, but horrendous that she felt the need to share her opinion!
I will continue baking a cake for whoever moves in and inviting them for dinner when they are settled. We haven't had any kindred spirits yet but the odds are improving! A girl can hope, can't she?!
with a happy heart |
| brightmeadow |
Posted - Nov 14 2006 : 5:27:29 PM
When I was a kid, the township council met once a month, and they made a party out of it. We lived in a township on the edge of the county that was much smaller in size than other townships since way back in the 1800's the county boundary shifted. So small size, rural, fewer people. In the recent election (last week, I mean), there was a levy proposed for fire protection -I saw the returns on TV, the levy failed, the vote was 16 to 16.... So I mean it is a really small township....
Anyway, these parties were held at the township house and we loved them! The women sat in one circle and talked about sewing or cooking, the men sat in another circle and talked about their tractors and crops, and any township business there might be, like repairs on the snow plow or tarring and chipping the township roads, whatever, and us kids played board games or tag or hide-and-seek or banged on the piano until the adults yelled at us.... There were probably 10-12 families and each family probably had an average of 4 kids, so you can imagine it was a madhouse.
Then after the "meeting" the hostess for the month would serve a fancy dessert.
Sometimes it was a potluck supper too, but if i remember right this was just a few times a year.
********************* Back to the present ***************************************
I've been married for four years, moved into my husband's house, and last weekend I met one of my next-door neighbors for the first time! Our house is separated from theirs by a LONG row of pine trees, and they have a LONG drive up to the top of a hill... and I never really had a reason to march up the hill and introduce myself.
The way I finally met them is we went into a Japanese restaurant for dinner last Friday night. The restaurant seats people at the hibachi grill in the order they come in, until the table is full. There were already 4 people at the table, strangers to us, we sat down, introduced ourselves, and a few minutes later, another couple joined us. Turned out they were our neighbors! Good thing they recognized my husband, because he didn't recognize them. Anyway we had a nice chat, and she invited me to come up and see her.
We do know and get along well with most of the other neighbors, and I was thinking of maybe doing a block party next summer. These are great ideas you all have posted.
You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands - You shall be happy and it shall be well with you. -Psalm 128.2
Visit my blog at http://brightmeadowfarms.blogspot.com ,web site store at http://www.watkinsonline.com/fish or my homepage at http://home.earthlink.net/~brightmeadow |
| Libbie |
Posted - Nov 12 2006 : 7:15:53 PM
What fun festivals and festivities! I am so inspired by what you have put together. I wish I could drop by and visit all of them - I would OF COURSE bring a dish!!!
Heather - those block parties sound like quite a fun production! I might try the countrified version... Too bad Willie Nelson doesn't have any connections around here - maybe he'd pitch in!!!
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| lambgirl |
Posted - Nov 11 2006 : 8:15:42 PM
Libbie,
I just depends on what needs to be done. In the fall we help friends with their cattle giving vacinations and such, and in the spring it's branding. We also help with apple, plum and pear picking. This year I made a ton of plum butter. Always at the end their is a bbq or pot luck. It's great fun.
Heidi
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| MagnoliaWhisper |
Posted - Nov 09 2006 : 08:23:11 AM
I live in NYC. However, I live in a apt, the second largest co-op in the world. (20 buildings, with 550 apts per a building). They do have a co-op picnic at the baseball field in our co-op (We have tennis courts, parks, water fountains etc in our co-op) but so far it's always a weekend we can't go. BUT, my husbands grandparents live in Brooklyn, in a brownstone (home like Bill Cosby on the Cosby's lived in) they have a block party every summer. As far as I know all the home owners get together and decide on a day, then they put in a request to the city officials. If they ok that day then it's on. Then they decide as a communittee (block) what entertainment will be provided. Usually a pony for pony rides, and the last few years has also been a clown and a blow up slide thing. Every one pays a certain amount for this entertainment. I don't think it's more then like 25 dollars a household (it's a small block, only one side has residence, the other side is backs of businesses, and then half the residence block is a nursing home, so those people don't pay either, only the home owners, so there is only I would say at most around 15 home owners if that! So 25 a owner isn't bad. However, I do think Jay-Z and Beyonce should chip in for some things, since his grandmother lives in the nursing home there. And yes he also comes to the block party every year. However, he doesn't follow the rules, he parks his rolls royce on the street, and the rest of the neighborhood grumbles! lol I do think he may pay for the big sound system though that the nursing home puts out for music during the block party, but I don't know.) However, that is the only thing shared by the whole block. The police come out in the morning and put up road blocks, and every ones cars should be parked on a different street. (if you ever seen the cosby's front you will know there is no drive ways). Then the whole street is blocked off and since the courtyards are very small, mainly taken up by stairs to get into your home grills/bbqs etc are put in the street, and the children are allowed to run, play, ride bikes etc in the street as well. The side walks is where most of us put up food tables, card tables, and chairs to sit play cards, eat etc.
Each home owner invites who ever they want to the block party. My grandparent in laws, invites all the family and extended family and we can invite all our friends etc. Then you only eat at the host families home. IE me and my husband (and any friends we may invite) only eat at the grandparents home. Grandma and grandpa usually provide the meat-chicken, ribs, etc. My husbands uncle does all the grilling/bbqing on the side walk across the street from grandparents home. (it's wider, and leaves the street open for the kids-and as I said there is no homes over there just backs of businesses). The rest of us, including friends we invite are expected to bring some kind of dish, it can be anything from a main dish to sides and desserts. However, since the grandparents provide so much meat, it's usually sides and desserts. I will say however, we have had some freeloaders come with nothing. Now there is some exceptions, like a single man who is in a wheel chair who lives around the block on the block next over. He's a friend of grandma's if he didn't bring anything we would not be upset, however even he brings chips usually. BUT, others who are able to bring stuff and don't....... grandma says they can not be invited back. And I don't blame her. These are the same people who want to bag up all the ribs to take home! hmmmm grr.
So propper ettiquette, always bring something! lol Even chips will do. But, don't come empty handed and then eat up and bag up all the ribs, you wont be getting another invitation! lol
However, I did notice that a lot of things in my husbands family was left to the grandmother to fix (even the sides) till I came along. I couldn't understand why a 80 year old woman was supposed to do ALL the work and all one other person did was grill. So when I married into the family I started bringing at least 3 sides and 2 desserts. I think it started shaming the family, and they started bringing things too. THEN grandma made that rule about bring something or don't expect another invite. lol I think that's only fair. Especially considering these particular grandparents will sometimes have upwards of 100 people pass through on that day. (not every one stays the whole day, some come for breakfast, others come for lunch and some come for dinner. Mainly though us grandkids, and a few of the kids stay the whole day. Extended family and friends stay usually only half a day or one meal). |
| Libbie |
Posted - Nov 08 2006 : 8:13:58 PM
Heidi - do people get together to help with the harvest or to celebrate it? That sounds like so much fun, too! I only have neighbors on one side of the property, so I might just have to send out a town-wide open invitation. Yikes! I think I need to brainstorm some more about this...
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| lambgirl |
Posted - Nov 07 2006 : 7:20:23 PM
When we lived in a neighborhood we used to have a 4th of July barbeque potluck followed by fireworks. They were great fun. A couple of us started it by sending out invitations to a couple of the surrounding streets and waited to see who showed up. We asked them to bring their favorite side dish and own main dish for their family. One year we had everyone bring a dish from their ethnic background.I miss those get togethers. Now that I live in farming community it is kind of different. We have several different groups that get together depending on what is being harvested.
Hope this helps.
Heidi |
| Libbie |
Posted - Nov 06 2006 : 10:18:13 PM
So, I never got around to having a summer neighborhood party (something about being extremely pregnant and having a baby...), but now I think it's "do-able." I have this vision of sort of a "standard" monthly town-wide get-together where, say, on the second Thursday of the month, everyone goes outside their house from 6-8pm and meets their neighbors, socializes, shares hot chocolate, coffee, or, depending on the season, lemonade or whatever -- just a time where my little town can get to know each other better. Is this an odd idea? It just sounds so neat to me...
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| Libbie |
Posted - Mar 17 2006 : 3:14:50 PM
I am planning something for this summer (I think!) - maybe our farmgirls around here will want to do it with me, I hope! - I really like the ideas of a seasonal something-or-other and a block party. Maybe I'll try to mesh the two...
XOXO, Libbie
"Nothing is worth more than this day." - Goethe |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Mar 14 2006 : 2:34:08 PM
Summer before last we all had a big block party here..it was sure fun..we did deli sandwiches (that we made up from ingredients all laid out I mean) and homemade rootbeer and the kids and adults alike had a blast. It was held around the corner from us..although we are close enough to the park (about a block and 1/2) that we could have it there.
I love having that community feeling!! We try to have at least a couple outdoors parties here each summer. I love entertaining outside!!
Jenny in Utah
Inside me there is a skinny woman crying to get out...but I can usually shut her up with cookies
http://www.auntjennysworld.blogspot.com/ visit my little online shop at www.auntjenny.etsy.com |
| HollyDee |
Posted - Mar 14 2006 : 1:56:02 PM
Hi Libbie, what fun. Our old neighborhood had a lady that would pick a theme and pass a flier to all the houses in the neighborhood. Like at Easter she would have people drop empty plastic eggs and bags of candy and she and her boy's would fill them. It was always a big potluck and some of the adults would make those paper hats out of newspaper for the kids to put on and they would parade along the streets long enough for the eggs to be hidden. then they devided the number of eggs by the kids and let them all collect up to their limit. It was alot of fun. Happy Planning
HollyDee |
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