“Lately I’ve been hearing from some neighbors who moved into the neighborhood during COVID that they feel disconnected,” the Fishtown Neighbors Association’s events chair, Kat Clayton, told the Star. “I’m hoping that this is an easy and safe way to get people outside of their homes to meet the people who live closest to them.”
Clayton is talking about the FNA’s first ever Meet Your Neighbor Fishtown event, slated for Aug. 27 at 6 p.m.
“This event is meant to be an opportunity for neighbors to meet each other, or catch up with each other, on their block,” Clayton continued. “A few years ago, the FNA used to have a weekly Sit on Your Stoop night in the summer where neighbors were asked to sit on their stoops and hang out with their neighbors. The goal was to build community.”
This year’s Meet Your Neighbor Fishtown event is a “spinoff” of the Sit on Your Stoop event, Clayton said.
“We’re hoping that neighbors will come out on their block or a block near them to hang out for the night on the sidewalk.”
It’s the first time the civic association has held the event, but if it’s successful, Clayton said, it hopes to put on a second iteration.
Similar to the Spring Sidewalk Sale the FNA hosted in May, neighbors for the Meet Your Block Fishtown event can sign up to be a host home, which will serve as sort of a “home base” for the event, according to Clayton.
People at host homes “can bring a few drinks and snacks to share,” Clayton said, “then the neighbors can swing by with some more drinks and snacks – loaves and fishes style.”
The FNA will have a map of host homes on its website for residents to reference when out and about. For more information about the FNA’s Meet Your Block Fishtown event, visit the civic’s Facebook page for the event.
