Blueprints

Vote early, then celebrate it. Turn the first day of early voting into the best block party on the calendar.

A cabinet of drawers on the sidewalk. Leave art in a drawer and flip the tab to say TAKE ART. Somebody else takes it home. There are no other rules.

Old bicycles are rescued, made roadworthy, and decorated until each one has a personality and a name. Then the community owns them.

A community game of honesty and audacity. Pick Truth and a gorilla brings you one on a silver tray. Pick Drawer and you have to go do something.

Bring a cake that represents you and get crochet lessons in return.

A room full of strangers learns one pop song in three-part harmony in a single evening, sings it once for the camera, and goes home.

An hour-long slow walk counting the birds you see. The walk is an excuse to notice nature's beauty with new friends.

One evening a year, a party is held in your street or building. You bring a dish and you meet the people behind the doors you pass daily.

Sewing from the absolute beginning: how to thread the machine, how to change the stitch, taught by neighbors.

A tent, some bunting, and everyone on the block baking the same thing on the same afternoon. Judged kindly and enjoyed by neighbors.

A knitting circle with a mischievous public mission: wrap the neighborhood's cold, ignored metal in color.

A weekly gathering on someone's front lawn. The signal? A plastic pink flamingo in the yard. Whoever takes the bird home hosts next week.

One afternoon a year, the whole neighborhood turns into a music festival. The stages are front porches, and the musicians already live there.