Key Steps to a Successful Block Party

Posted by: Guy Souliere & Ed Kucerak

What a better way to spend a summer day than planning and hosting your own block party in Old Ottawa South. It’s a great time to relax and catch up with the neighbours on your street, enjoy good home cooked food and share stories about living in the hood. And the kids will love the opportunity to let loose playing all sorts of games and biking up and down on a car-free street until the setting sun.

A block party is a neighbourhood event in which residents in Old Ottawa South get together to hold a social gathering on their street. Parties can be held on weekends and holidays. And the street can be closed off to traffic during the party. If you live on a street that cannot be closed, try to pair or twin up with a neighbouring street.

The following is your step-by-step guide to a successful block party in Old Ottawa South.

  • Form a block party committee.
  • Hold a planning meeting.
  • Decide who will be the main contact or coordinator for the party.
  • Assign responsibilities for:
    • Distribution of invitations
    • Publicity
    • Activities, entertainment & music
    • City permit & applications needed for the event
    • Clean-up
  • Survey the neighbourhood to select the date for the party addressing any concerns that neighbours may have about the party.
  • Plan your finances for the party and set a budget.
  • Decide on how the food will be handled.
  • Will people bring their own food and drinks?
  • Or is it a potluck/BBQ where all food and drinks are shared?
  • Decide on alcoholic beverages. If so, they must be served on someone’s property.
  • Drop off the invitation flyers to all the neighbours as well as send it out through any social media platforms or email lists that you use to connect with your neighbours.
  • Make sure to ask people to bring their own chairs and table as well as their own dishes and utensils.
  • Reserve any necessary equipment you will need to rent/borrow (tables, tents, sound system, etc.).
  • Make arrangements for any party supplies you may need to purchase.
  • For fun, book and arrange for your neighbors to entertain during the party such as poets, singers, dancers, etc….
  • Submit a completed application for your block party to the city at least 15 calendar days in advance of the party.
  • Permits are free of charge and the city will provide the street barricades.
  • Once the application is submitted, the city will send you a waiver to complete and submit plus instructions about picking up and dropping off the street barricades.
  • Review the city’s Noise By-Law to make sure your event complies with it.
  • Publicize the party by stapling posters to street posts.
  • Deliver a flyer to every house on the block.
  • The flyer should have a prompt to bring a chair, table, dishes, utensils, potluck dish etc.
  • If you have your neighbours’ email addresses, send them a reminder.
  • Confirm arrangements for the City of Ottawa barricades, entertainment, food, refreshments, tents, tables and any other equipment that will be rented or borrowed.
  • Pick up and set up of the street barricades.
  • Arrange a long table for the potluck.
  • Set up the BBQ’s.
  • Set up lights and decorations.
  • Make some name tags.
  • Pick up and set up a PA system for announcements, music, singers, etc.
  • Be green – put out a couple of blue, black and green bins.
  • Get a couple of containers of soapy water to clean dishes.
  • Create some chair circles.
  • Designate where (on private property) any alcoholic beverages are to be located.
  • Designate who will look after anything that’s left over or forgotten after the party.
  • Join forces with your neighbours to clean up.
  • Get kids to help with the clean-up.
  • Send thank-yous to sponsors, donors and anyone else who helped make the event a success.
  • Meet to evaluate the event’s success and things that might be improved.
  • Set a date for next year’s party!

More information about planning a block party can be found on the City of Ottawa’s website including an Event Guide, the Block Party Application and Permits at:

ottawa.ca/en/living-ottawa/laws-licences-and-permits/planning-outdoor-special-event

Also, a detailed Block Party Planning Guide are available for download at

www.hopewellblockparty.ca

Written by: Guy Souliere & Ed Kucerak

Advisors: Chris & Heather Barrett

Special thanks to the residents of Hopewell Ave.

First published in the June 2013 OSCAR

Featured in the July-August 2026 OSCAR.