Gathering is golden

Boulder City is exceptionally adept at staging major annual events and festivals for visitors to enjoy. Art in the Park, Spring Jam, Best Dam Barbecue, the Fourth of July Damboree Celebration, Wurst Festival, Santa’s Electric Light Parade, and Bootleg Canyon mountain bike events are just a few examples. Of course, many Boulder City residents enjoy those, too.

But occasionally we need to hold community-building events designed almost exclusively for Boulder City residents where we can just be ourselves and appreciate one another without any distractions. Events where nobody is selling anything, showing off, pushing political agendas, giving speeches, taking credit, or drawing attention to themselves. Events where we simply gather to bond as friends and neighbors.

I can recall a few such events over the years. For instance, in the early 2000s when Bob Ferraro was our mayor, the entire community was invited to plant trees along the newly-installed Veteran’s Memorial Drive. My young family and I were among the citizens who turned out in droves to help. The holes were dug in advance, so all we had to do was plant the root ball deep enough, cover it with dirt, and make sure the pre-installed irrigation lines were properly spaced around the tree. Each of us helped with a sapling or two, and in no time flat, the entire thoroughfare was lined with fresh, new trees, many of which are still growing there today.

More than anything, we had a great time socializing with new acquaintances and old friends and came away feeling like we had made a collective contribution to the greater good. We were investing in our future together and, as a result, became more closely knit together in unity, appreciation, and respect for one another.

Another community bonding event that comes to mind occurred in 2018, just a few days before I-11 officially opened to traffic. A few hundred citizens responded to the city’s invitation to gather for a community day, the sole purpose of which was to come together as residents and enjoy each other’s company while walking or biking on the new interstate bypass. In the process, we each gained more than just a sneak preview of the new stretch of highway.

In addition, we strengthened bonds with friends and neighbors, made new acquaintances, fostered our sense of community pride and solidarity, enjoyed some wholesome exercise while communing with nature, developed a greater appreciation for Boulder City’s majestic scenery, and hopefully felt reinvigorated to tackle life’s challenges with fresh perspective.

The Boulder City Firefighters Association’s annual pancake breakfast is yet another event that helps to cement us together as a community. Yes, it’s a fundraiser, but mostly it’s just a fun social gathering that allows us to become better acquainted with our first responders and each other. Last year, it included a blood drive, which by itself can be a foundational community-building tradition. Kudos to the firefighters for giving us a reason to assemble and interact with each other in meaningful ways, while simultaneously teaching us how to make our community a safer place.

Another successful city that I’ve visited bonds together by holding an annual spring community clean-up day complete with a free community-wide lunch. But that’s just one idea that’s worked for them.

By focusing on larger community gathering events, I don’t mean to minimize the importance of the many smaller gathering events that occur almost daily. Nonprofits, religious organizations, service groups, and friends are continually organizing smaller gatherings that benefit our community immensely.

Likewise, some community events vary in size over time, depending on who’s organizing them, how much effort and advertising dollars are spent, and what other activities might be competing for the interest of likely attendees. For instance, I remember some pre-Covid Historic Preservation Day events that were quite grand and well-advertised, whereas if you haven’t been paying close attention, you might not know that this year’s Historic Preservation Day events take place this coming Saturday, May 10, 2025 at various locations in Boulder City (see https://www.bcnv.org/613/Historic-Preservation-Day-Month for more details). National Night Out is another example of a community event that’s more popular some years than others.

Don’t get me wrong. Smaller community gatherings, and the repeat ones that wax and wane in size, are great. We need them.

But larger community-bonding events are critical to our lifeblood, too. If I tried harder, I could probably remember more of them. But in my opinion, we don’t have them often enough. They certainly don’t have to be repeat events like the firefighters’ pancake breakfast. In fact, a variety of different events staggered over time is probably better. They also don’t need to involve community service like the tree planting extravaganza did, although serving our community together is certainly a bonus. What’s most important, though, is that we come together en masse and focus on each other, celebrating our collective successes and emphasizing the fact that we’re much better when we work together as a body than we are individually.

So, my challenge to all of us, including our city leaders, is to creatively and collaboratively plan more large-scale community-building events. One major event every two to three years is probably enough. And a variety of unique events is undoubtedly best. I know from experience that gathering is the welding glue that will bind us together and make us stronger than ever.