Connect Rhode Island

A closer look at LRI's "Hi Neighbor!" Block Parties

Our 3rd Annual “Hi Neighbor! Statewide Block Party” was a great success! Now, let’s take a closer look at our three years…

But first, on behalf of LRI, I want to express our gratitude to all of our attendees, those who executed these events with us, and those who financially supported us along the way. Thank you! We’re deeply appreciative of your help in building a stronger Rhode Island.

2015-2017 Sponsors & Partners:
National Grid (ALL 3 YEARS!), The Armory Revival Company, Barrington Books, IGT, Julian’s Restaurant, Lockheed Window Corporation, Loring Advisory Group, Mulligan’s Island, Narragansett Beer, Neighborhood Health Plan of RI, and Turino Group.

While we were having fun each year you may not have noticed the impact and deliberate reasons behind our block parties. Leadership Rhode Island’s annual theme in 2014 was “Cross the Line.” We spent that year, externally, exploring what line crossers were, are, and do while the Board of Directors and staff determined, internally, what lines LRI needed to cross in support of its own mission. What we found was a need to increase our scale to increase impact, so we created and adopted a variety of larger-scale engagement activities in 2015; one of them was the “Hi Neighbor! Statewide Block Party.”

In order to weave an expanded social net,  we joined up with two great RI entities well-known for building communities with huge followings: Julian’s and Narragansett Beer. We couldn’t have asked for better partners. Thanks for everything!

Three years of our block party allowed us to:

  • Foster chance encounters by engaging a wider cross-section of Rhode Island — individuals who are not alumni, LRI-connected, or who even consider themselves leaders. It’s this “middle ring” which has been researched and cited as how communities are strengthened, where good ideas come from and gets to the very heart of American exceptionalism.
  • Engage across the state. Residents from each of RI’s 39 cities/towns attended our event over 3 years – 1700 attendees in total. We like that kind of statewide reach!
  • Stimulate social enterprise as the first external organization to hold an event at The Steel Yard. The Yard now holds many events including weddings and this weekend’s Beer & Bacon Fest.

Of course,  LRI is very mindful of what our alumni say and mixing with other “best classes ever!” in a fun, family-friendly environment was a significant goal of these block parties.

So what’s next?
We will continue to strengthen our community and our pride in place by bringing Rhode Island’s unique history of declaring independence two months before the rest of the country and our lively experiment to the national spotlight. It’s time to share our “lively experiment” with the rest of the country. SAVE THE DATE of May 4 on your calendars for the next three years. With the living Mr. Roger Williams himself, John McNiff, we intend to make this vision a reality!

Update: A Response from Dave Allyn of the Steel Yard

“I really credit Mike Ritz for taking the initiative (and gamble) to host such a large event at The Yard while we were still learning to spread our wings as an industrial arts venue. I feel Mike’s investment in the Yard as a community gathering space really propelled us directly into an overnight success. My very first event, as an event coordinator, was the LRI Block Party 3 years ago and I still remember being blown away. How the heck did LRI get over 1000 people to come to The Yard on a Wednesday evening??? The ripples of that first event are still being felt today. Shortly after the first Block Party, this incredible person named Sabrina (LRI ’15) contacted me about hosting a daytime hip-hop show at The Steel Yard because she had been to the LRI Block Party and thought our space was amazing. That event, Daytrill, is now in its third year being hosted at The Yard and is one of the most beautiful events of the year. Great Block Parties, great organization! Cheers to Mike and Matt!”