It's (Almost) Party Time!

With the block party less than two weeks away, the PLC crew has been busier than ever. In just a few short weeks, the block party has evolved from a vision to a plan, and things are beginning to materialize. Between advertising, permits, and budgeting, Muhammed and I have had our work cut out for us. As always, our Civic Works partners have been a great help, as well as our enthusiastic Lyndale Ave participants. Last night we had a block meeting on Lyndale to discuss our plans for the block party. We made sure that residents are aware that the block will be closed to vehicles from 3-7 pm on Saturday, July 2nd and invited them to bring a potluck dish, lawn chairs, and any games they may have. We plan to re-flyer today with a second invitation--hopefully people will RSVP within the next seven days so we can compile a guest list.

Today we've invited our Block Party Planning Committee to have lunch with us and talk logistics. Our volunteer sign-up sheet is getting full and I am so grateful for all of the support and enthusiasm from our coworkers! As Muhammed's and my terms of service come to a close, the Block Party is such a wonderful way to culminate the first (hopefully of many) Project Lightbulb Challenge! The party should be a fun time for everyone to get together and celebrate energy savings and community building. In addition to celebrating the Challenge and the success of the 3600 block of Lyndale Ave, we are also celebrating an important milestone for our sister program, Project Lightbulb. Project Lightbulb will be performing the 3,000th home energy upgrade in Baltimore City at 3:00 pm on Saturday July 2nd on Lyndale Ave, to kick off the block party. There will be a ribbon cutting, some brief words, and a few members from the local marching band New Edition. Afterwards, we hope all of our Lyndale residents and Challenge participants stick around to enjoy music by DJ Barry, relays, a raffle, games, arts and crafts, good food, and of course--energy networking. With so many of our Civic Works programs represented at the block party as well as the coming together of proactive, energy-conscious city residents, the air should be humming with conservation talk.

Block party aside, recruitment efforts are still underway and we are finishing up our last handful of IHD installations. As the block party quickly approaches, I hope to be posting updates much more frequently! Time flies when you're having fun...