With summer in full swing, why not get together for a block party? Last week Stone’s Throw Brewing threw their 11th Birthday Party by shutting down the street to cars and inviting several food trucks and vendors. There was live music. There were food trucks. There were nonprofits and small business vendors. And there were lots of neighbors out and about enjoying each other’s company.
Check out what you missed below! Photos are courtesy of Aaron Showalter.
3 Reasons You Should Host a Neighborhood Block Party
Strong Towns writer, Emma Durand-Wood, shares that this small act can have outsized benefits to improving a neighborhood or city. You can read her article here.
How to Host Your Own Block Party
Ian Beard of Stone’s Throw shared some tips to throwing a block party here in Little Rock!
Start planning early. You’ll need permission to close the street from the city, neighbors to approve and neighborhood association to be looped in, and permits from the ABC if you want to have alcohol.
Be a good host and keep your guests needs in mind by having things like restrooms and water available.
Good communication with your volunteers, vendors, and the public is really important.
Keep it simple! A complex plan always sounds cool ahead of time, but from experience it can cause grief when it’s time to execute. Don’t let perfect get in the way of the good.
So what are you waiting for?
And the ABC permit application. Note: ABC requires donating at least 25% of drink sales to a non-profit. If this newsletter inspired you to finally throw your own block party, please consider donating to Our Little Rock!
Have fun. Trade stories, tools, and recipes with your neighbor. And if you do, let us know! We’d love to know we’re helping folks take action for a more livable Little Rock.
