The Bloor Street Initiative hosted its Splash Party on July 5 between Lansdowne Ave. and Dufferin St., drawing 125 people over the course of the afternoon and evening event.

Volunteers spent the day sweeping sidewalks, washing windows and scrubbing walls. They also created tile mosaics to replace crumbling storefronts.

Faltering businesses, empty storefronts, drugs and crime are some of the issues facing the community, pushing people away from their public space.

“Throwing an event that encourages community members to come out and engage in their space…and cleaning their streets shows that they care,” said project co-ordinator J.P. King.

“It is a way for them to take back their space and make a direct action effort to create some immediate change.”

They also hosted graffiti removal demonstrations throughout the day, showing business how they could remove illegal graffiti and restore the original building without painting over it.

Const. Scott Mills said the community building process was designed to engage people in taking pride in their neighbourhood.

Mills was encouraged when a graffiti vandal actually called him to find a way to help.

“I got him down there and he was scrubbing off illegal graffiti from storefronts,” Mills said. “He stopped doing vandalism and wanted to do something positive in his community.”

As the day neared its end, the Splash Party turned into an informal dance party. A 20-piece samba band took to the street and played for over an hour, entertaining the crowd.

“It was a great celebration as we took back the street and had some fun after a day of cleaning,” King said.

They are offering their supplies as a Splash Party package to encourage other neighbourhoods to take part in a similar event.

King says their focused has now shifted to this year’s Nuit Blanche on Sept. 29, where they will be creating a medley of artistic light shows and sculptures on Bloor St. W.

For more information, visit www.bigonbloor.com.