Brian hosted one of the 39 street parties in Tameside for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Due to the success of the party, which he believes, has had a huge positive impact on community spirit, he is organising a party of the King’s Coronation.

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Here, he shares his top tips for organising a successful street party.

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Getting people’s support

“I started by getting a feel of whether people were interested in having a street party. I spoke with half a dozen friends and neighbours, before knocking on people’s doors and posting on our street’s WhatsApp group. Finally, I put a flyer though everyone’s doors about the party. When speaking to everyone I was clear this was a community street party to show it was inclusive for everyone.

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A couple of people did have some concerns – some of them were happy for it to go ahead but didn’t want to join in, but on the day a few of them joined us!

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If people are generally positive about the party, you can submit the paperwork to Tameside Council.

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Organising the party

One top tip is to keep the organisation really simple. Speak to the people you found most responsive about the party and ask if they’ll help you organise it. Have discussions with them of how the day could run and make a task list e.g. decoration, entertainment, food and drink, seating and tables, clearing the streets. Discuss each point with the organising group.

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‍Food and drink

We asked households to make and bring their own food and drink for their attendees. This allows everyone to cater for their own tastes. We did have a communal table which people could donate to which everyone could take from. Everyone still ate together, we set a time for everyone to bring out their tables and line them up down the middle of the street. Make sure the tables are joined together to bring everyone together as a community.

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We also set up a few communal BBQs in people’s front gardens for everyone to use with their own food. Putting BBQs in front gardens helped keep them separate from children.

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Decorations

On our street, one person collected the decorations from everyone so we knew how much we’d got. We asked for volunteers to decorate the street and we also asked everyone to decorate their own homes.

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Entertainment

See if anyone has a PA/ Sound System. Through organising the street party I found out a musician in a band lived on a nearby street, they were happy for us to use their equipment and the band played at the event. It just goes to show you don’t know who lives nearby as one neighbour said – “A neighbour isn’t a stranger, they’re just a friend you haven’t met yet.” If you can’t get a PA I’d suggest using the loudest speaker you have.

When creating a playlist for the party, think about the different generations living on your street and what music they’d like e.g.50s/60s music for older generations. You could do a dedicated hour with music from each decade or just mix it up.

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To make memories for the children at the event, we organised a dedicated hour of children’s activities. You could organise a treasure hunt, pass the parcel, kids party games.

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We also had Karaoke – just get an iPad and use karaoke versions of songs with lyrics.

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The weather

To prepare for bad weather, we put up some gazebos for shelter- just make sure they’re secure. We also had a back-up date for the event – you just need to let the council know which is your back up date. A week before, we made a decision about the date using the long range weather forecast.

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Keeping people up to date

Two to three weeks before the party we had a residents meeting in someone’s back garden to discuss the plans. If anyone couldn’t make it, we put the information through their doors.

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We asked everyone on the street to move their cars (the street has on road parking) by 9am and everyone sorted out their own parking for the day.

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Health and safety

Think about your activities you’re planning and think of any measures you could take to make them as safe as possible such as BBQs in front gardens. Our street took out street party insurance for the event, it only cost about £20 and people chipped in a pound to keep the cost low. Any extra funds were donated to charity.

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‍Top five tips

The street party was a huge success which has improved our community spirit. My top five tips for organising your own are:

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1.      Keep organisation simple – don’t overcomplicate it!

2.      Get a feel for people’s positivity – do they want the street party?

3.      Think about location – if you’re inviting more than your street is the location accessible for your community?

4.      Ask everyone to bring their own food and drink –they know what they like!

5.      Be inclusive rather than exclusive – remember why you’re coming together!”

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Host your own street party

You can host your own street party to celebrate the Coronation of the King with your community. Street parties for this event will form part of the Coronation Big Lunch with millions of people across the UK taking part.

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To make organisation simple, Tameside Cultural Services, part of Tameside Council have launched a new guide full of tips and ideas for games to make sure it’s a success. There is no cost to applying to close your road. Download the guide and apply to close your street here.

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Thank you to The Tameside Reporter for kindly allowing us to use the paper's photographs of the street party.