Don’t miss Dorchester’s Neighborhood Summer Block Party, Aug. 9

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The third annual Neighborhood Summer Block Party for Dorchester (Shawmut, Melville, St. Mark’s and Codman) begins this Saturday at 1 p.m. at 41 Sharp St. in front of the Epiphany School. This free event is open to everyone.

Run by Reverend John H. Finley in partnership with Candice Gartley and a support team, the party is a family fun gathering that will have water play, bubbles, music, free food, games and more.

Gartley has been in the neighborhood since the 1990s.

Meeting local firefighters and checking out their truck at a previous Neighborhood Summer Block Party in Dorchester. COURTESY PHOTO

“We fell in love with our neighbors and the neighborhood in general. It was very diverse [with] really smart, wonderful, interesting people, and they knew each other because we had to know each other because it just kept the neighborhood safer,” she said. “We had keys to each other’s houses. We had civic meetings and we had block parties — that was a way to bring everybody out, to increase our neighbors knowing each other.”

However, Gartley said in the beginning of the 2000s, things began to slow down with the block parties and they were held periodically.

“It was important to reestablish that connection among neighbors, because obviously that’s what makes a neighborhood strong and vibrant,” she said. “People knowing each other and feeling they can rely on each other. So, a few years ago, we started it up again.”

Having fun at a previous Neighborhood Summer Block Party in Dorchester. COURTESY PHOTO

This year, community members can look forward to live music, free food, water play, arts and crafts, a children’s clothing swap, resource tables about housing, food access and job opportunities and the attendance of elected officials. Community members are encouraged to bring side dishes to share, with common allergies marked.

“We’re not going to change the world, but we are going to have a huge impact on the people who live in our neighborhoods,” said Gartley. 

She also hopes that the Block Party will have a wonderful impact on their neighborhood and community members.

“If I can walk down the street … and we can say hello and have a connection with each other, that’s a huge start,” she said. “If it just starts with that, then the shared memory then moves to information sharing, and maybe additional experience sharing, [such as] getting referrals to daycare, a preferred restaurant, or ‘I know an excellent doctor that you can go to.’ It is really, really organic, but you got to start somewhere.”