Previous events during Neighbourhood Week have included:
- barbeques
- street parties
- monster garage sales
- sports day
- picnics
- progressive dinners
- street and park plantings
- morning teas
- karaoke
- walking school buses
- neighbourhood clean up
- fundraising activites.
Getting organised
The first thing to decide on is an event. Once you have done that then you can apply for a Neighbourhood Week subsidy. This will allow you to know how much funding you will be receiving and allow you to plan your event fully.
Then decide the venue. If you need to book a park or reserve you can contact the Council on phone (03) 941 8999 or email neighbourhoodweek@ccc.govt.nz. The Council also has community facilities which are available for hire for a small fee.
Give people tasks to do or items to bring.
Invitations are good to use to let your neighbours know of your event and whom to contact for more information.
Below are some of the suggestions with some information to help you plan your event. Good luck and have fun.
For organisers of community recreation programmes and events, check out the essential course Get Set Go!
Street party
Organising a street party is a great way to get to know all the neighbours living in your street. To make it a little more fun you can have a theme or fancy dress.
- Decide on a venue.
Decide on a time and date. Take into consideration weekend sports.
Think about alternative venues if weather is poor.
Give people jobs to do.
Prepare invitations with lots of information on what to bring, what is provided, contact details and RSVP information.
Deliver your invitations in plenty of time before the event.
Neighbourhood sports day
Organising a sports day is a fun and active way to get the neighbours together, and with a little thought young and old can participate.
See what equipment is available within your neighbourhood for example, cricket sets, petanque, badminton
Think about hiring equipment if need be. Some organisations have sports equipment for hire for a small fee.
Think about activities for children, such as musical chairs, egg and spoon races, or balloon games.
Organise chairs for older members
Decide whether equipment will be set up or if you will hold a mini tournament.
Think about after activities such as a barbeque and prize giving with certificates.
Walking school bus
A walking school bus is a safe and healthy way to get the children to school. It also helps you get to know the children and parents in the neighbourhood
Neighbourhood clean-up
If you want a make a difference as well as getting to know your neighbours you may be interested in organising a neighbourhood clean-up.
Identify areas in your neighbourhood that need a clean-up. If you live near to the beach or river you may want to select a section of that.
For cleaning graffiti you may want to contact the Council Graffiti team.
Provide or get people to bring gloves and rubbish bags if you are collecting rubbish.
If you are near water ensure that parents keep an eye on their children.
- Decide how and who will dispose of the rubbish.
- Think about any post clean up activities such as a picnic or barbeque.
Monster street garage sale
Ever wondered what to do with all that clutter in the garage? Get a few of the neighbours together and organise a street garage sale.
Set a date and time.
Think about how you will advertise the garage sale. Use a local residents’ association newsletter, local school or church newsletter or bulletin board? Or the traditional sign at the end of the street can be just as effective.
Organise a collection time for bringing together things to sell.
Allocate tasks for the day, people might be on a rota for the day.
Decide on how the money will be distributed. You might decide to keep track of who sells what or use the money for a street get to gether.
