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When was the last time you took a walk down your street and had to factor in an additional hour for socializing? It’s not uncommon that my wife and I experience that every time we walk down Pershing Avenue, where we've lived for the last seventeen years. Although we always knew there were great people inside those wonderful craftsmen homes, for a long time, we only knew a small number of them on a personal basis. That has changed! For the last five years, my neighbors and I have met for potluck on the First Friday of every month.
Each month, our potluck is hosted by a different neighbor on the street. We’ve never had fewer than forty people walk through our gatherings at some time in the evening. Our neighborhood has transformed over time from these gatherings. Five years ago people shook hands with one another; now they hug and laugh together. So we break bread every month. No one talks about their cars, their bank accounts, or their jobs. We just get together and create lasting relationships that have impacted our street beyond description.
North Park continues to grow. Density increases, traffic thickens, but our neighborhoods blossom and mature. After living in this community for 17 years it's refreshing to see all the new faces. On the darker side, it's no secret that North Park has seen its share of crime recently. In all the years I've lived in this community, it seems like it happens in waves. We all know that one reaction is to form a Neighborhood Watch. Nothing is more proactive than to take some form of constructive action.
First Fridays also have their merits. For example, my neighborhood has been hosting parties on a monthly basis for the last 5years. Whether there is a crime wave in our community or not, we continue to break bread together on a monthly basis. The result is that we watch out for each other. And it is in that spirit of consistent nurture for one another that we keep our neighborhood safe. On a more global scale, have we not lost our sense of world community? So the easiest place to start to regain that feeling is in our own neighborhoods.
With that said, I encourage each of you to take the next step and foster that sense of community in your own neighborhood. I promise you it will be one of the most rewarding experiences you will ever have in your life, and it will transform the face of your neighborhood forever. Steps for a successful launch of First Fridays: 1. Make a commitment that if you take this on you'll nurture it for a period of 18 months.
2. Purchase a clipboard and print a flyer with the time and date to launch your First Fridays, preferably the First Friday of the month.
3. Pick a beautiful afternoon and take your lovely spouse/significant other and knock on every door on your street.
4. Introduce yourself, let them know you're not running for office or collecting any money (this usually gets a chuckle).
5. In one minute or less, let them know you're putting together a neighborhood potluck, and you'll be hosting the first one.
6. At this point in time, I wouldn't explain the whole concept of First Fridays, because your goal is just to get people together for one night.
7. Hand out the flyer, ask them for their e-mail so you could send a final reminder (not everyone will give it to you).
8. Okay, now it's party night - have nametags ready for people.
9. Have your clipboard there and encourage people to sign up for future months.
10. Typically, we have these booked out for most of the year.
11. If you want to go high-tech like we have, we also have a distribution set up in a Yahoo group.
12. The Yahoo group is convenient, because we set up the parties for the year and automated e-mails go out on a monthly basis reminding everyone of next month's gathering.
There you have it. Here's how I look at it. One Friday evening of every month I don't have any social decisions to make. I know I'm going to be there as long as I’m in town. I also know without a doubt, that great food will be there every month. And because our neighborhood has grown into a big family, you can guarantee there will be no shortage of laughs. We definitely have a history together. If you just paid $500,000-$800,000 for a home in this community, for 1200 ft.² house why not enjoy the neighborhood and get to know your neighbors?
I hope you've enjoyed this cookbook on how to set up a First Friday. For groups of 10 or more I’ll be happy to come by your home, and walk you through the steps. I can be reached at 619-923-2979. My e-mail address is
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