Show your neighborly spirit for ‘I Love Bluff Park Day’ on May 6

Brandon Gossett has seen Bluff Park’s neighborhood spirit come out in Halloween parties at his house and the Trucks on the Bluff food truck event. He’s hoping to bring the neighborhood together again to celebrate itself with a brand-new event: I Love Bluff Park Day.

The event is May 6 at Children’s Fresh Air Farm, 501 Park Ave., at 4:30 p.m. The evening will include a picnic-style gathering, live music from Mason Music, a showing of “Secret Life of Pets” at 7:30 p.m. and a chance for Bluff Park families to enjoy time together.

Gossett said he’s lived in Bluff Park 34 years and has never seen an event like this in the neighborhood before. He and his wife began hosting Halloween parties in 2011 and 150 to 200 people would attend each year.

“That let me know that people were really craving community. So we started hosting a Halloween party because everyone was leaving our neighborhood to go trick-or-treat somewhere else. That party has grown significantly, and I think we had over 250 people there this year,” Gossett said.

The Gossetts also have helped start neighborhood small groups and worked with resident Sam Swiney to start Trucks on the Bluff. I Love Bluff Park Day is a joint effort between the Gossetts, Swiney and neighbors Katie Collins, Kerry Leasure and Heather Skaggs.

“There is nothing more valuable than face-to-face relationships, and we believe a day like this can help foster those types of relationships,” Gossett said. “I feel like a day like this can bring people across the board together. Lastly, it always makes trips to the local businesses more enjoyable when you see a face you know or can strike up a conversation with someone maybe you met at this event. We just want to see our neighbors get to know one another and begin to form special friendships with the people who live right around you.”

Find out more about I Love Bluff Park Day on the event’s Facebook page.