Block party

A block party or street party is a crowded party in which many members of a single community congregate, either to observe an event of some importance or simply for mutual enjoyment. The name comes from the form of the party, which often involves closing an entire city block to vehicle traffic. Many times, there will be a celebration in the form of playing music and dance and activities like pony rides, inflatable slides, pop corn machines and barbecues.

As a form of activism street parties are festive and/or artistic efforts to reclaim roadways as public space by large groups of people. They were made known in Western Europe and North America by the actions of Reclaim the Streets, a widespread "dis-organization" dedicated to reclaiming public space from automobiles and consumerism.

Poland Orange Alternative staged festive protests to break the Communist government's monopoly on public life.

In the UK, these have historically been held to commemorate momentous events, such as VE Day or the Queen's jubilees, with bunting dressing the street, and children playing in the street. An estimated 10 million people took part in street parties in 1977 for the Queen's Silver Jubilee.

The British tradition seems to have begun after World War I as residents' own "peace teas" to celebrate the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

The tradition was boosted for the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton in April 2011 with about 1 million people joining in street parties. For the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in June 2012 about 2 million took part.

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