Hold a Street Party or Big Lunch Celebration in Camden
Street parties and Big Lunch celebrations are a wonderful way to encourage communities to celebrate their connections, get to know each other better, and establish new friendships and neighbourhood cohesion. Organising a street party does take a bit of planning and some willing volunteers to ensure its success.
Here are a few pointers to make your event in Camden one to remember:
• Form a small committee of local people so that you are not bearing the pressure on your own and you can delegate tasks
• Choose a suitable date, avoiding days that might rival other local activities or when a lot of people may be on holiday
• Ensure good communication with all residents by:
- Doing a letter drop to all local houses or flats explaining the ideas and encouraging people to get involved
- Pin the letter to notice boards in housing estates if applicable
- Create an email address people can respond to eg [email protected]
- Use local Whatsapp groups to spread the word
• Contact Camden Events Service at [email protected] to check whether your location and date is acceptable to move forward with planning
• Apply to the Camden online portal - https://app.apply4.com/eventapp/uk/camden so you can be guided on all necessary health and safety paperwork including Public Liability insurance
• Make sure you allow at least 6-8 weeks of notice to legally close your street for your event
Bringing your local community together can have limitless opportunities for enjoyment. Ideas and activities you can include:
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Sharing of food is often the central part of the event and households and families can be encouraged to bring food to share. From cakes to curries, pies to pizza- home-made items, as well as shop bought, are all good to bring along. You might even want to BBQ if your risk assessment ensures safe operations and competent chefs!
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Involve neighbours asking them to bring out chairs, tables, and even gazebos for shelter.
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Play music from charged Bluetooth speakers or larger boogie boxes
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Encourage Games and Activities such as:
· Face painting and henna painting
· Chalking / Pavement Art
· Dancing competition / Football goal scoring
· Photo corner, with fancy dress items to add to the ‘ photo shoot’ e.g. hats and masks
· Storytelling for the younger ones
· Soft play zone, with mats and toys (can be borrowed from a local playgroup)
· Hold a street talent show
· Stalls galore! Book swapping, plants, toy tombola
· Bring a photo of your family and create the history of the street
· Ask for a visit from your local Fire Station, to bring their fire engine
· Create a fun day of activities with various board games
If you are working with professional food providers, please make sure you get their Food Hygiene Certification, Public Liability, Employers Liability, Risk Assessment, and any other safety certifications for e.g. Gas certification for cooking. The same health and safety certification will need to be obtained from all suppliers, even for bouncy castles. At all times, do your best to involve as many people as possible, allocating small tasks to community members. Remember Camden’s eco policy and encourage everyone to use one-use plastic or for people to bring their own cutlery and plates.
Camden Council Events Team will ensure that your road is closed legally and offer templates to manage risk assessment and event management planning. They can also advise and provide support for any questions. Camden Events Team is the one-stop shop to organise your road closures and parking suspensions. Simultaneously, the Highways team will ensure that signage to close the road and that traffic cones or extra barriers are provided where necessary.