Block Party is a Red Bank Reunion

The idea started a couple of years ago following the death of a close friend from the old neighborhood. What she realized, Party Planner Dale Weems said, was that the only thing that brought everyone together anymore was a funeral.

Weems and several hundred of her closest friends, present and former Red Bank residents alike, celebrated the second annual Red Bank Family Reunion Block Party this weekend.

“A friend of the family, Anthony Dixon, died two years ago so we decided to get together to celebrate with the block party,” Weems, who owns and operates Events Plus, said. “Just like we used to have years ago.”

The event, open to all, aimed to reconnect family and friends who were born and raised in Red Bank but may have moved away or lost touch since. Weems said some of those in attendance Saturday hailed from all over – she herself now currently lives in Howell – including places as far as Florida and Tennessee.

A quote on the back of Weems’ 2011 reunion t-shirt served as a bit of a mission statement. “Bringing it back, giving back; one family, one love.” The block party also helped raise funds for the Red Bank-based soup kitchen and food pantry Lunch Break.

Tommy Jackson, another reunion organizer, said the event marks a return to a sense of family and community the neighborhood and the people who used to live in it once shared.

“We looked out for each other,” he said. “If I was hungry, they fed me. When I needed anything, they gave it to me. You can always count on family.”