Neighborhood Night Out 2021
As we come out from under the difficult circumstances that have kept us apart from each other, so much has changed but we still long to resume our neighborly ways. We step carefully into the future knowing that many people will need to avoid being close to others, at least indoors or without masking up, and we are aware of necessary precautions. Last year we skipped the annual Neighborhood Night Out, but people still need people in a healthy community. We recently sponsored individual block parties, and they were friendly gatherings with some neighbors seeing others they had not seen in years, in an open-air environment safe for all. So we thought, “Why not… ?”
With the success of our block parties, we decided that we could do a larger outdoor event with plenty of room where our Southern Gables neighbors can interact at the distance that is right for them. The Southern Gables Neighborhood Association, in cooperation with the Green Gables Elementary School and PTA, is going to have a Neighborhood Night Out on September 24, 2021 from 5:00 to 7:30 PM on the campus of Green Gables Elementary School. All Southern Gables residents are invited.
We will have free hot dogs,* chips, and drinks. Magill’s Ice Cream will be giving out servings of their delectable treats. There will be face painting artists, a bouncy house for the kids, and a DJ playing party music, just to name some of the activities for the night. Our last Neighborhood Night Out in 2019 was attended by over 600 participants. We want our neighbors and students to feel we all are “back” after the past 18 months. We are hoping to have good attendance at our September 24 Night Out, and we are encouraged by the fact that the event is always outdoors so there is plenty of room for each individual to maintain whatever personal distance makes them feel comfortable and safe.
We have asked many of our Selected Business Supporters to participate on the September 24 Neighborhood Night Out. They will be setting up booths with games and activities which are family appropriate, and will have prizes or handouts. To see a list of the selected Business Supporters of the Southern Gables Neighborhood Association, click here. Many have struggled to keep going through the past year and a half, and we like to encourage doing business with our neighbors in whatever ways we can.
We hope you will come and be a part of this festive activity, as we work to bring neighbors back together in a feeling of community and neighborly spirit.
Sincerely,
Doug Whitten
President, Southern Gables Neighborhood Association
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* P.S. The hot dogs will be provided by Joy’s Kitchen. By the way, if you want an opportunity to do some good for the world, that opportunity is right here, right now, right in the neighborhood. Review the article we wrote about Joy’s, and consider volunteering: Doing Good.