Readers Share 'Night to Unite' Photos, Neighborhood Stories

Before the storm began Tuesday evening, neighbors were able to spend some time together at one of 153 Night to Unite block parties in Eden Prairie: eating, playing and celebrating their neighborhoods.

Some even continued partying throughout the storm.

"Storms don't slow us down, our neighborhood is full of well-seasoned block partiers! We had our party before, during and after the storms," Taiha VanCleave Wagner wrote on the Eden Prairie Facebook page.

Wagner said their little neighborhood that they call "Pavelka/Rosalla," which is sectioned off by Valley View and Duck Lake Road, is tight.

"We feel pretty lucky and many of us don't consider moving out of this neighborhood an option, we've been through too much together to leave," she said. The neighborhood even has its own Facebook group to keep them connected.

Wagner said her family lives right next door to the original farmer of the land and namesake of their neighborhood, Rosie Pavelka. "We have two streets in our neighborhood named after her, Rosalla Drive and Pavelka Drive."

The neighborhood gets along so well that they host an annual neighborhood pentathlon the second weekend in August, complete with games and a huge potluck. 

"We even have old neighbors come back to participate," Wagner said. "The neighborhood that plays together stays together!"


Also pictured, neighbors from Ridgewind Road/Windrow Drive in The Preserve party it up for Night to Unite. Photos submitted by Michelle Morgante.

• Check out more videos and photos of Night to Unite here.

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