Posted by The Mirror, MI on August 04, 2008 at 13:08:48:
Neighborhood wins block party from Edy's ice cream
By Megan Pennefather • MIRROR STAFF WRITER • August 3, 2008
A great neighborhood is like a recipe; you have to have the right mix of people, activities, humor and just plain looking out for one another in order to work.
Not surprisingly in this age of virtual reality and friendship over e-mail, it's not every day you find everyday people co-exist with such harmony.
So when the folks who live on Oakridge Avenue in Royal Oak found out they were the recipients of the 2008 Edy's Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute ice cream contest, it gave them a chance to celebrate their unique community bond.
Edy's provided 12 half gallons of ice cream, four boxes of ice cream bars, signs, decorations and party supplies for the neighborhood's annual block party July 26.
"It was really fun; it was great," resident Ellen Schwab said. "Just about everyone came."
Resident Kim Field penned the winning contest submission, writing that she has "never known a group of individuals, all ages, so close and excited for a get-together/party or even to help each other out ... We have created a community, our own; one for which others just can't understand, but are envious."
Her essay was among the 1,500 selected nationwide by Edy's from the 19,000 entries the company received.
Schwab isn't sure how the neighborhood got so close, just that it somehow got the right mix of personalities to make it one large extended family.
"It's just kind of a sense of everyone looking out for one another," Schwab said.
"We're constantly celebrating something," she said. "Basically, if the sun is out or not out, we celebrate that."
Field added that the neighbors put the effort into building a community.
"I think we take the time, even if it's for five minutes, and say hi," she said.
It's Field's hope that Oakridge's ice cream block party can serve as an example to other neighborhoods, showing the benefits of being part of a community.
"It was a perfect day," she said. "Hopefully, we will inspire other people to get together."
mpennefather@hometownlife.com (248) 901-2558
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