BUFFALO NIGHT TO UNITE BLOCK PARTY INFORMATION GUIDE…

What is Night to Unite?

Night to Unite will take place on Tuesday, August 3, 2010.  Night to Unite is sponsored by the Minnesota Crime Prevention Association, AAA of Minnesota/Iowa and local law enforcement communities as a way to celebrate and strengthen neighborhood and community partnerships.

GETTING YOUR BLOCK PARTY STARTED AND ORGANIZED

• The sooner you start planning the better!

•   Recruit neighbors to help – assign jobs…

•  Set the time and location where you will meet on August 3rd

• Register with the Buffalo Police Department , by July 16^th to receive a “party pack”

• Create flyers/invitations

•  A few days in advance – put up signs as a reminder

• Plan activities that will include everyone and will promote conversation

• Clean-up

•  Keep it simple and have fun enjoying time with your neighbors!

WHO TO INVITE

• Invite your neighbors

•  Invite former neighbors who have moved away

•  Invite a neighboring block that doesn't have a block caption to join you – show them how much fun it is so they will have one next year

THEME PARTIES AND FOOD IDEAS

•  Potluck - An easy way to avoid too many tuna casseroles is to assign each household to bring one dish, such as an appetizer, salad, main dish, side dish, dessert, or beverage. Another was is to have odd-numbered addresses bring something from column A and even numbers from column B.

•  BBQ — Set up a few grills and everyone brings their own meat or veggies to grill. In addition, each neighbor brings a salad, side dish, or dessert to share.

• Community Menu — Plan a menu and assign each household a specific food, food category, or beverage. Request copies of the recipes to share with each other. This method works well with a theme party.

• Dessert-only Event - Include fruit for special diets.

•  Cater It — Take up a collection and cater your party. Once you know how many neighbors to expect and how much you want to spend per person, all you do is place your order. The pros do the rest (pizza, subs, ribs, chicken, etc).

•   Root Beer Float or Ice Cream Party – Have assorted sprinkles so kids and adults can decorate their ice cream.

GAME/ACTIVITY IDEAS

•  Neighborhood Bingo — Have cards with questions about neighbors in the squares. You’ll need handouts and pens. If you get five correct answers in a row, you win.

•  Neighbor of the Year award

•  The "_est" Game — Ask questions about who has lived on the block the longest, who is the tallest, who has the biggest pet, whose last name is the longest/shortest, etc.

• Coloring or sidewalk art contest

• Treasure Hunt/Scavenger Hunt

•  Neighborhood Trivia — Provide a list of questions about Buffalo or your block (make it multiple choice).  You will need handouts and pens.

•  Bike Decorating

•  Party Hat Decorating—You’ll need plain party hats in assorted colors, glue sticks, feathers, cut up strips of ribbon, stickers, glitter, confetti, etc. Let the kids go at it and have a contest or parade and give prizes for various categories.

•  “Come As You Were” - Have neighbors dress “in costume” as they looked when they moved in. This prompt lots of conversation, not only about what the neighborhood was like but what your neighbors were like.

•  Get old photos of the block and make a mural.

•  Balloon Relay — You’ll need two large plastic trash bags, a bag of balloons (use two colors, one for each team), and two chairs. Form a start point and turn around point, placing the chairs at the turn-around point. Have each team form a line behind the starting line. At the signal, one person from each team runs (walks) with a balloon to the chair, sits on the balloon, bursts it, runs back, and tags the next player. Continue until each player has done the relay. The first team to finish, wins.

• Concentration — You’ll need a tray, paper, pencils, and some common household items. Lay the items in a tray and have participants pass around the tray. Remove tray from sight and have participant’s list what they remember. Give extra points or break ties by asking specific questions like what flavor sucker, etc.

•  "Two Truths and One Lie" — Taking turns, the first person tells three statements, two that are true and one that is not. Everyone indicates which statement is a lie by holding up one, two, or three fingers.

Don’t forget! 

Keep your outside lights on August 3^rd

and

Have a wonderful time!

BUFFALO POLICE DEPARTMENT