Block Party Blowout

Anil has been helping organize his block party for 15 years, but it's been running for more than 20. "We think we're the oldest contiguous block party permit in Chicago," he says. What's his motivation? "It's a way to get to meet people who you may not know who are also committed to staying in the neighborhood to set up institutions and norms and make it comfortable for people to stay."

A jaw-dropping 600 people attend Anil's block party, probably also making it one of the city's largest block get-togethers. In fact, by block party standards, Anil's block party is definitely classified as a "blowout." From a rented beer truck and hired DJ to a dunk tank and even port-o-johns, Anil and his fellow organizers have thought of everything. Here's how they do it, year after year ...

Step 1: Organize a team

Team Block Party on Anil's block consists of about 15 dedicated people every year -- and they need every last one of them. Here are the key job descriptions for Anil's block party team:

Permit applier

DJ liaison

Finance manager -- collect money and deposit in the block party association bank account

Beer truck manager

Banner management (banner used for publicity; more on that in a moment)

Dunk tank manager

Grill manager

Name tag managers

No parking signs (pick them up from the alderman's office and hang them the day of the party)

Food purchasing

Food prep

Waste management

Jumping Jack supervisors

Bike parade organizers

Portable toilet manager

Dog show organizer

If you're counting, that's more than 15 jobs. But let's face it: the guy who hangs the parking signs can probably handle doing double duty as the port-o-john manager. Considering all of the food that's needed for 600 people, most people on Anil's team will pull double duty chopping onions for all of those brats ...

Comments

[Ferrite]

Nice Instructable!

[mandible]

Thanks! The hope is that people see this and see how fun it is to get the neighbors together for a party.