Street party brings neighbours together in Chatham
Chatham resident Ashley Rodrigues did something recently she admitted she would never have done when she lived in Toronto: Party with her neighbours.
The transplanted Torontonian organized a block party on her street in south Chatham.
About 50 neighbours showed up, including a band.
Rodrigues, who moved to Chatham from Toronto four years ago, explained it was something she wanted and needed to do.
“I’m on my second maternity leave. I’m an event planner by trade. I was looking for some way to get the neighbours together,” she said. “Everyone here walks, stops and talks.”
With her firstborn in daycare and her second child still an infant, Rodrigues thought the timing was right to work to bring the neighbourhood closer together.
“I designed a flyer and had it printed. I walked with my stroller and went to all the houses,” she said, adding there are a lot of seniors on her street, and she wasn’t sure how effective posting on social media would have been to deliver her invites.
The planning started simple enough. Bring a snack, have a snack. But it blossomed, as a committee of neighbours formed and anticipation grew.
“We had a small committee helping organize. I was impressed with how involved and eager everybody was,” she said.
There was a corn hole tournament, where house numbers were pulled at random to create matches.
A retired doctor on the street who is in a band encouraged the group to perform in front of his house.
There was face painting for the kids.
People who normally relaxed in their backyards did so at the front of their houses.
“About 50 people took part,” Rodrigues said. “Everyone brought a snack and brought their own chairs.”
Rodrigues had reached out to the municipality to see if it was possible to have their section of the street shut down to vehicular traffic for the 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. event, but she said she was turned down.
In the end, Rodrigues said the event was a hit.
“I would say a lot of community spirit came out. Conversations were just naturally happening,” she said. “One neighbour, 90, has been there for 53 years. The conversations she had were just wild.”
Designed to have neighbours get better acquainted with one another, Rodrigues said it was mission accomplished.
“It’s also just knowing that your neighbours are good people. They’ll watch your house if you’re not around,” she said. “I love that people had a good time. People were just bonding over food and the neighbourhood. I love that about this community and Chatham-Kent.”
Rodrigues added this would not have worked in her old neighbourhood in The Big Smoke.
“No way, not in Toronto,” she said with a laugh. “My (Toronto) friends are shocked this was able to be pulled off.”
Rodrigues said she might pull it off again, perhaps growing it so people on nearby streets attend.
