Saturday, May 19, the residents of a Rancho Sahuarita street held their First Annual Block Party. Several neighbors, concerned about an alleged assault on their street and the fact that none of them know very many of their neighbors, decided to take matters into their own hands and get to know one another. They decided the best way to do that was by having a party. The date was set, duties were delegated and the countdown to fun began! A flier introducing the event was passed out by the organizers a few weeks ahead of time.

In the flier, the residents were asked to bring a covered dish and their lawn furniture. Organizers provided hotdogs, chips, punch and water. They knocked on every door to personally invite their neighbors, or left the fliers on the doors where no one was home. The Wednesday before the party, a reminder flier went out.

Sgt Groseclose from the Sahuarita Police Department attended and gave a short presentation about community safety and the Neighborhood Watch program. He mingled with the neighbors, posed for some pictures and "deputized" some of the smaller attendees. He mentioned that the block party had one of the best turnouts he had seen.

In an attempt to make their street a safer one, a large map of Camino del Abedul was drawn and residents were asked to put their family name, phone numbers and list their vehicles. This will assist the Neighborhood Watch if a suspected suspicious vehicle is seen and will help neighbors keep in contact. The directory will be printed up and given to everyone who attended.

A jumping castle from C&J rentals entertained the kids in a backyard until dusk at which time they pulled out their bikes and the street was turned into Abedul raceway. (The jumping castle was paid for by generous donations from the neighbors.) Watching the children laugh and play together reminded everyone why we all chose to live in a community like Rancho Sahuarita.

The neighbors brought fantastic food, yummy appetizers and decadent desserts. As the night came to an end, everyone agreed it was a great success! (One neighbor quipped, "Let's do this again next month!")