A block party is a large public celebration in which many members of a single neighborhood congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which often involves closing an entire city block to vehicle traffic. Many times, there will be a celebration in the form of playing music and dance. Block parties gained popularity in the United States during the 1970s. Block parties were often held outdoors and power for the DJ's sound system was taken illegally from street lights. This was famously referenced in the song "South Bronx" by KRS-One with the line:

"Power from a street light made the place dark. But yo, they didn't care, they turned it out."

Traditionally, many inner city block parties were actually held illegally, because they did not file for an event permit from the local authorities "if needed". However, police turned a blind eye to them.

In the suburbs, block parties are commonly held on holidays such as Fourth of July or Labor Day. Sometimes the occasion may be a theme such a "Welcome to the Neighborhood" for a new family or a recent popular movie. Often block parties involve barbecuing, lawn games such as Simon Says and group dancing such as the Electric Slide, the Macarena or line dancing.

In other usage, a block party has come to mean any informal public celebration. For example, a block party can be conducted via television even though there is no real block in the observance. The same is true for the Internet.

The block party is closely related to the beach party. The British equivalent is the street party.

A block party often includes a fire hydrant spouting water at the neighborhood children. In many small towns, the local fire department may also participate in the party, bringing out trucks that they display for show.

Block parties remain a part of American culture. An example of a contemporary block party is the one held by Ronnie Mund of the Howard Stern show in July 2006.[1]

Fall and spring are both wonderful times to have a block party and get reacquainted with your neighbors. However, it can also be a lot of work to pull one off successfully if you don't plan ahead and get some help!

First thing you need to do is talk to your neighbors. Go door to door and either invite them in person, or pass out flyers to come to your home for a "committee meeting" to plan a block party. Not only will you find helpers, you will also find out how many people would be interested in attending.

At the first meeting, you need to come up with several different dates and then the committee needs to check with neighbors on what would be the best date for them. Majority rules and you have your day all set.

Depending on where you live, you may need to let your town or city officials know about the block party - especially if you live on a busy street. It may be possible to get your road barricaded off during your party so as not to be worried about traffic.

Once you have your date you need to decide what kind of a block party do you want. Should it be bring your own food? Bring a dish to pass? Do you charge people up front to pay for some of the food such as meat to grill and then let them bring a dish to pass also? Your committee must decide what would work best for your neighbors.

Next you finally get to let everyone know when it is. Bright, colorful, fun invitations either mailed or personally delivered are desirable. They are inexpensive and effective.

Your committee should now start splitting into smaller committees. You'll need ones for adult games, kid games, food, cleanup, and any other aspect you want to include, such as music or other entertainment.

Each committee will then have it's own jobs to do:

Game Committees:

Organize games, find people to run them, and discuss the possibility of prizes.

Food Committee:

Decide how food will be presented - do you need to find tables? What about grills? Coolers and ice for beverages need to be arranged.

Cleanup:

Organize garbage cans in convenient locations through out the neighborhood, make sure they are not overflowing and change bags whenever necessary. You may want to check with your local dump to see if you can bring in the trash and dump it right away. Cleanup is important because if you have the party the day after garbage pickup, you could end up having a problem safely storing all of the trash from the party until the next pick up. You don't want your party to be remembered by a foul lingering smell or because animals got into unprotected garbage bags and scattered litter everywhere.

A successful block party is not hard to have - it just takes a little motivation, a lot of cooperation, and the willingness to enjoy time with your neighbors.

Here are some block party ideas to help make your block party a success.

Block Party Ideas #1

Kid crowd control - To insure every kid on the block receives a balloon or gets their face painted, I would suggest giving each house on the block a badge/wrist bracelet that identifies the kid as living on this block. This will give these kids a special priority, thus eliminating kids that attend from other neighborhoods. If time remains, the entertainer can entertain kids without the bracelet.

Block Party Ideas #2

Sell extra wrist bracelets - Block parties are a community event, people who have no kids invite family and friends with children. These children now have to be calculated into the cost of the block party. For these families that normally do not have children, sell them wrist bands. This will help calculate the number of kids at the block party and offset entertainment and prize expenses.

Block Party Ideas #3

Invite local law enforcement or fire department to your block party. Most local government agencies can provide free community education such as, D.A.R.E., Kids finger printing, police dog education, fire safety, home safety, plus they can bring vehicles for children to inspect. This will make your block party educational and fun.

Block Party Ideas #4

Frozen T-shirt Game. The idea of the game is to take a folded frozen T-shirt, unfold the T-shirt and put it on. This game requires 5 T-shirts. I suggest that you find a local company that would like to donate some T-shirts (free advertising for the company). Soak the T-shirt in water and fold. Place freezer paper between shirts and freeze rock solid.

The Game - Have five contestants unfold the frozen T-shirt and put it on. They can do anything to defrost the T-shirt, BUT must be done in the street. If a barbecue kettle is available, then roasting a T-shirt is legal. You will be surprised how creative people will become trying to unfold a frozen T-shirt.

Block Party Ideas #5

In planning your block party activities, remember to make provisions to recycle all of the materials that are normally collected by the City. So, when the fun is over and it is time to clean up, recyclables are already bagged.

Have a lot of kids on your block? Consider the balloon show which entertains the whole block party all in 45 minutes.

These are just suggestions to stimulate your thinking. Be creative!

SIMPLE REFRESHMENTS

• Watermelon
• Potluck - bring your speciality
• Lemonade & cookies
• Coffee, tea and dessert
• Ice cream cones
• Make your own sundaes
• Pretzels and chips
• Fruit and cheese plates
• Pizza
• Cookies
• Hamburgers
• Hot dogs
• Chicken
• Corn on the cob
• Salads
• Soda
• Iced tea
• Punch

GROUP CONVERSATIONS/MIXERS

• Block history stories
• National Night Out stories
• Photos from past block parties and NNO events
• Design a mixer: "Find a person who…" - with prizes
• Oldest resident award
• Longest resident award
• Newest resident award

CONTRIBUTE TO THE COMMUNITY

• Collect for a food bank
• Beautify a common area
• Plan a fall clean-up or bulb planting
• Recruit additional Neighborhood Watch leaders and block captains
• Discuss neighborhood concerns, problems
• Distribute neighborhood block list, phone numbers, etc.
• Discuss outdoor lighting in the area

ACTIVITIES FOR YOUTH

• Bike parade
• Board games
• Skits
• Make a mural or banner
• Coloring Contest
• Pony rides
• McGruff
• 3-legged race
• Football, baseball, basketball. Street hockey
• Roller blade
• Youth parade with a theme
• Jump rope
• Chalk art
• Facepainting
• Bubbles
• Sack races
• Magic show
• Sing-alongs
• Water balloons
• Frisbee competition
• Piñata
• Clowns
• Bike Safety
• Child ID Kits

ACTIVITIES FOR ALL AGES

• Block party
• Cookout
• Parade
• Jump rope contest
• Hula hoop contest
• Barbeque
• Street dance
• Volleyball
• Storytelling (truth or fiction)
• Celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, etc.
• Scavenger hunt
• Visits from police, fire and EMS
• Crime prevention videos
• Take lots of pictures
• Karaoke
• Rummage sale
• Music and DJ
• Dunk tank
• Movies
• Sandy beach party
• Street carnival
• Disposable camera distribution/photo contest
• Self-defense demonstration
• Jail & Bail
• K-9 demonstration
• Funniest hat contest
• Welcome new neighbors
• Live music
• Horseshoes

Here are some basic guidelines for organizing a block party. The specific legalities will vary by township or city ordinances.

Three Months Before

• Form a Block Party Committee consisting of several households and hold an organizational meeting.
• One member should become the main contact person, responsible for sending out invitations, arranging publicity and answering questions.
• Assign one person to handle permits, insurance and other legal requirements. Check with the township office or public works department to get this information.
• Put another person in charge of organizing food and refreshments.
• Appoint another person to be activity coordinator.
• Don't forget to put someone in charge of the clean-up committee!
• Survey the neighborhood to select the date for the party. Send out petitions to all affected residents, if required by ordinances.
• Decide how the food will be handled: Will the Committee purchase food and beverages and simply charge attendees a flat fee? Will the Committee plan a menu and assign recipes to each household? Will you ask everyone to bring a main course and beverage for their own family, and a side dish to share with others? Will you be serving alcoholic beverages and are any special permits or insurance required?

One Month Before

• Send out invitations. This can be done as part of a neighborhood newsletter or as a separate mailed notice.
• Apply for necessary permits.
• Investigate noise ordinances and see whether any permits are required to keep the party going into the late night hours.
• Make arrangements to get barricades to block off the streets surrounding the party.
• Purchase any necessary insurance to cover the event.
• Make arrangements for toilet facilities, if necessary.
• Reserve equipment you will need to rent such as tables, tents, sound system, etc. Ask everyone to bring their own chairs.

One Week Before

• Publicize the party. This can be signs posted throughout the neighborhood, ads in local newspapers or a phone call chain.
• Confirm all arrangements that have been made with emergency, police and fire departments.

Suggested Activities

• Invite the local police and fire departments to visit and give safety demonstrations and tours of their vehicles.
• Organize contests such as a dance contest; a food-eating contest; three-legged races; potato sack races; basketball shooting contests; volleyball tournament. Kick off the day with a parade comprised of floats for the little children and a dressed up bike parade for the older ones.
• Hire a clown or magician to entertain the children with balloon sculptures, magic and face painting.

Don't Forget...

• Nametags - they may seem geeky, but it's a lot easier than trying to remember everyone's names or doing self-introductions.
• A bullhorn if there will be organized contests and activities.
• Tubs with ice for chilling beverages.
• Coolers for storing perishable foods.
• Store meats separately from other food to protect against contamination.
• Clean up when you're done!

• Confirm arrangements for barricades, entertainment, food, refreshments, tents, tables and any other equipment that will be rented or borrowed.

Successful Block Parties are cooperative efforts. Not only is it too much work for one family, but the simple act of many families contributing to the event helps build the feeling of community.

Block parties are appropriate for all ages and part of the fun is providing the opportunity for children of different ages interact. The key is to have a wide range of activities...some activities that are fun for young children, some that are fun for older children, and some that bridge the gap and can be enjoyed by all children and even adults.

Front yards, driveways, sidewalks and garages are logical locations. Some cities allow residents to obtain permits to block auto traffic on the street and actually use the street for the party location (kids love being able to play in the street for a day!). These permits are usually low cost ($25), but must be applied for well in advance.

If your neighborhood is close to a park or school with public space, the party could be held there. Since this is likely to be an outdoor party, think about the back-up plan in case of rain (is the party postponed or moved inside garages or covered porches?)

Fun Invitation ideas for a block party include:

• shape and name of your street sign
• reproduction of a map of your neighborhood

Ask for RSVPs at least one week ahead and request the following information:

• number of guests
• ages and gender of children
• type of food they plan to bring
• games or craft supplies they can bring
• entertainment skills (see below)
• misc. supplies they can bring (tables, chairs, bbq grill, ice chest)

This allows you to determine how many people to plan for and determine the supply needs that are taken care of and those that are still needed.

More Invitation ideas and tips!

Fun Decorations for a Block Party include:

• colorful table cloths and partyware (plates, cups, napkins, utensils).
• banner or poster to celebrate the occasion "Welcome to the Elm Street Block Party".
• Helium or regular balloons tied to trees, fences, mailboxes

More Decorating ideas!

Fun Games & Activities for a Block Party include:

• street hockey
• obstacle course
• parade
• guess how many jar (m&ms or peppermints)
• ping pong
• stomp rockets
• twister
• checkers
• water balloon toss
• skateboarding
• parade
• jump ropes
• frisbees
• marbles
• jacks
• bubbles
• relay race
• limbo
• yo-yos
• face painting
• neighborhood musicians or boom box

More Games & Activities!

Fun Arts & Crafts ideas for a Block Party include:

• sidewalk chalk
• coloring and painting
• spin art
• modeling clay or play doh
• decorate bikes and wagons for parade

More Arts & Crafts ideas!

Fun Foods for a Block Party include:

• fried chicken
• hot dogs
• submarine sandwiches
• lemonade and ice tea
• street sign cake or cupcakes with monopoly houses
• popsicles, icecream cones or make your own sundaes

More Fun Food ideas!

Fun Favors for a Block Party include:

• small rubber balls
• paddle balls
• punching balloons
• bottles of bubbles
• ball & jack sets
• sidewalk chalk
• mini frisbees

More Favor ideas!

Special Resources for a Block Party include:

• Celebrate Express
• Kids' Party Fun Directory (entertainment, rentals, and places)

More on-line Resources!

Related Party Themes include:

• 4th of July
• Labor Day
• Carnival
• Barbecue