As the subject of this discussion suggests, I love being invited to block parties! It's great to meet your neighbors and play some yard games, and share your favorite dish/beverage. I have an office in the Northcenter neighborhood of Chicago and attended a couple block parties in 2019, but the pandemic shut them down the last couple years. So, now it's time to start planning for this years block parties (fingers crossed!). One disclaimer, you need to have a permit, to have a block party.
Here's a couple ideas to help you plan a block party of your own! How about a bounce house? They are not too expensive to rent and kids really love to jump around in them. You just need to make sure that someone is in charge to keep everyone safe. Hire a magician or a clown specializing in balloon creations. Some block parties even hire a band or acapella group!
I also brought along a bunch of world coins for the neighborhood kids to search through and learn about other countries and their money. Kids learned to identify the ruler of the country, the denomination of the coin, and the time period that the coins were used. Having learned all that, they got to take some coins home and of course I encouraged them to plan a visit to Mexico, Canada, Germany, France, Japan and spend some of their coins in their new "favorite" country. It also gave me the chance to introduce myself as a former Rotary exchange student and current Rotarian.
A couple other ideas:
Invite the local police or fire department to stop by your block party. Rent a snow cone, popcorn, or cotton candy machine. Organize an egg toss, 3 legged race, pie eating contest, or other traditional contest that includes recognition or bragging rights.
Well, hopefully I've given you a few new ideas and you'll want to help organize or attend a block party this Summer!
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John Kent
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