For the 12 years that Becca Anderson and her husband have lived in their Plymouth neighborhood, they’ve participated in Night to Unite. It’s an evening where neighbors put their responsibilities aside to relax and get to know one another. In 2017, Anderson hosted and registered her first neighborhood block party.
Each coordinator can submit photographs from their block parties, and Becca submitted the photo above which won second place in our 2017 Picture Plymouth contest. The party’s success prompted her to host again this year.
2018 Night to Unite is Tuesday, August 7, and Plymouth is celebrating its 28th year participating. Originally the Night to Unite was designed to help create safer, more livable neighborhoods, and now it has transitioned into numerous block parties that retain the original goal at the heart of each event.
“It’s all about neighbors getting to know each other, building that community pride, and bringing city departments together to build a stronger community,” says Sara Cwayna, Plymouth public safety education specialist.
Cwayna says that in their first year, Plymouth had 11 parties, and now there are over 150. “We really encourage our residents to make their parties personal, and also to register them so we can make sure a policeman or fireman can make an appearance,” she says.
The Night to Unite is all about celebrating community and getting to know neighbors, and Anderson says that she loves their annual block parties because it draws people in who they don’t always get to see. “A group of us gets together with our kids pretty often, but it’s such a great night to get to know everyone else that we don’t get to spend as much time with,” she says.
Ask your neighbors or check your local nextdoor.com site for details about your neighborhood’s Night to Unite event.
