Santa Cruz holds 9th Annual city wide Block Party

The city of Santa Cruz held it’s 9th annual city wide Block Party on Sunday.

Dozens of neighborhoods throughout the city were expected to have streets blocked off where neighbors along with first responders got together to talk about concerns in their community.

Santa Cruz Police Chief Andy Mills says this is a great way for the department to connect with the community, “this is an opportunity to really get to know people other than the few minutes you have when you’re responding for the police. But even more importantly it gives me a chance to hear them.”

Aside from sharing concerns, there was a lot of food and fun. Some neighborhoods kept the party low key, while others expected more than 150 people to be there.

The city wide block party is put on by Santa Cruz Neighbors, a non-profit organization. Their goal with the Block Parties is to “unite neighbors one block at a time and to reduce the potential for conflicts by promoting familiarity and open communication among neighbors.”

Many who attend the block parties say it is a time to take a step back from their busy lives and catch up with the people around them.

Next year will be the 10th anniversary of the Block Parties, organizers are expecting it to be the biggest one yet.