An every-evening tradition that has brought an entire neighborhood together is still going strong — without a break — even after five years.
Every evening for the last five years (and I mean EVERY evening), the residents of the Brooksboro neighborhood on Webster’s north side have been gathering at the end of Jack Turan’s driveway for a kind of happy hour, sharing a beverage, conversation and a few laughs.
The tradition began in March 2020, just as the pandemic was shutting the world down. You remember those awful days; we were resigning ourselves to putting our lives, and relationships with our friends and family members on hold for the foreseeable future.
That idea didn’t sit well with Jack Turan. He’d heard about how, in small towns all across Italy, residents were opening their shutters, sitting in their windows with their glasses of wine, and singing. The story gave him an idea: how about meeting up with his neighbors, outdoors, to enjoy a beverage and socially-distanced conversation?
That was the evening of March 22, 2020, and the beginning of a tradition that has continued ever since. Every night, Jack stands out at the end of his driveway with a beverage, welcoming anyone to stop by for a chat. And he does so regardless of the weather or the temperature. Remember those really cold days in January? Jack was out there. No way was he going to be the one to break the tradition.
“There has to be at least two people” to make it official, Jack said. “That’s the rule.” The frigid temperatures did, however, prompt Jack to (at least temporarily) reduce the required time spent outside from 15 minutes to 10 minutes.
Last Saturday, five years to the day it all began, the weather cooperated. Skies were sunny, the temperatures were tolerable, and Jack had a lot of company at the end of his driveway. Almost two dozen neighbors, with their kids and dogs, gathered that evening to commemorate their long-running neighborhood tradition. There were beverages, of course, but also a nice selection of hors d’oeuvres and sweet treats, supplemented by ice cream from Bruster’s and mac & cheese from M.O. Pasta. Jack grilled hot dogs, and emcee Alex Scialdone played dance tunes.
The neighbors hold these anniversary gatherings every year, and even had one to mark the 1,000-day mark (I blogged about that event here). The celebrations are pretty much the same every year, just another opportunity to enjoy a nice evening outside with friends. The children get bigger and there’s usually a new dog or two. But there always seems to be a fun new twist every year.
This time, emcee Alex had upgraded the previous year’s paper plate awards to shiny statuettes, personalized for each attendee with whimsical award designations, like “Secretly a Fish,” “Best Drinking ‘Buddy’,” and “Harder to Track Down Than Someone in Witness Protection.” Also new this year was a “What the heck is this?” game. Neighbors were invited to bring an unusual item from home, and everyone tried to guess what each of the almost 20 items was.
In the short time I spent there Saturday night, I heard some discussion about how much longer these daily gatherings should continue. I got the sense, though, that no one really wanted to think about that.
Even if it does eventually run its course, Jack Turan can rest easy knowing that his little social experiment accomplished exactly what it was designed to do: bring people together.
Garrett Wagner from Webster NOW was there making a video about the event. You can check that out here.
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(posted 3/27/2025)
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