Citizens of O’Fallon Park Bring Neighbors Together for Community Garden Day

Music, food, family activities and a little work in the garden come together for a Saturday afternoon centered on community in North St. Louis.

Sometimes building a stronger neighborhood starts with something as simple as getting people outside, sharing some food and working together.

That is what the Citizens of O’Fallon Park Neighborhood Association has planned for Saturday, September 26, when residents gather at the Clarence Clover Community Garden for an afternoon of community, music, family activities and a little work in the garden.

The free event runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 4500 Clarence Ave. and will give residents an opportunity to help prepare the community garden for the end of the growing season.

But this isn’t just a garden cleanup.

A Few Hours With the Neighbors

The afternoon is designed to give O’Fallon Park residents another reason to get together. There will be a DJ, face painting for the kids, food and useful information for neighborhood residents.

Hot dogs, fruit, soda and chips will be available, along with several free items for families, including school supplies, family hair supplies, socks and belts for boys, while supplies last.

And somewhere between the music, food and getting the garden ready for another St. Louis fall, there is an opportunity to do something equally important: meet the people who live around you.

Community Starts Close to Home

Neighborhood associations can be about more than meetings or responding when a problem arises. They can create spaces where residents get to know one another, exchange information and become more connected to what is happening a few blocks from their own front doors.

There is something especially appropriate about holding this gathering in a community garden.

Gardens are built slowly. Somebody prepares the ground. Somebody plants. Somebody waters. Somebody keeps coming back to take care of what was started. Eventually, everyone gets an opportunity to see what grows.

Neighborhoods aren’t much different.

Community isn’t always built through a major development or multimillion-dollar project. Sometimes it happens when somebody volunteers for a few hours, a child gets their face painted, two neighbors finally introduce themselves, or a family discovers a resource they didn’t know was available.

Those small interactions add up.

An Invitation to Get Involved

For the Citizens of O’Fallon Park Neighborhood Association, Saturday’s gathering is also an invitation for residents to become more connected to the neighborhood itself.

The message on the event announcement is straightforward: Join the Citizens of O’Fallon Park Neighborhood Association.

For residents who have wondered what is happening in their neighborhood, who their neighbors are, or how they can become more involved, Saturday afternoon provides an easy place to start.

Plant Something Bigger

Preparing a garden for the end of the season may be the work happening Saturday, but the bigger idea is what can continue after everyone goes home.

Strong neighborhoods depend on people knowing one another, sharing information, looking after common spaces and deciding that where they live is worth investing some time in.

On Saturday, that investment can begin with a few hours at the Clarence Clover Community Garden.