Close-knit Shorewood Blocks Named Neighborhood of the Year

The 4200 block of North Larkin Street/1500 block of East Olive Avenue have been named this year's Shorewood Neighborhood of the Year by the Shorewood Connects project.

This competition was developed to highlight the many good things happening in Shorewood at the block level and to encourage more residents to form organized block groups. 

As a winner of the third annual competition, street signs will be posted in the neighborhood, an article will appear in an upcoming issue of Shorewood Today, and residents will have the opportunity to march behind the “Shorewood Neighborhood of the Year” banner in the Shorewood 4th of July Parade.

In their application, the Larkin/Olive neighbors described many organized activities incorporating residents young and old, a focus on healthy living, numerous communication mechanisms for people to stay connected, and the fact that people sometimes move back to the block after they have moved away.

Some of the neighborhood activities include game nights, monthly happy hours, outdoor movie night, group camping trips, running and walking groups, a garden shares program, and others.  The neighborhood also has created a running “outreach list” and participates in an annual fundraiser for a local nonprofit. In addition, neighbors help older people on the block with snow shoveling and tasks around their homes.

Last year, the 4200 block of North Ardmore Avenue was labeled as Shorewood's best neighborhood.

For Shorewood residents interested in learning more about how to make their own blocks more connected, Shorewood Connects Neighbors has developed a tool kit which can be found on the Village website www.villageofshorewood.org under the “Shorewood Connects Neighbors” quick link.

For more information on the Larkin/Olive St. neighborhood, contact residents Paru Shah (988-9132) or Liz Kohler (962-0929).