As they are every year, vacations were scheduled around it. At least one business trip was rearranged.
"We went to Australia. We got back two weeks ago. We wanted to make sure we were here," said Sandy Honeycutt, 36, a physician's assistant who moved to the block five years ago. "This is something people look forward to."
This is prime block-party season. And while Euclid Avenue's is probably one of the longest-running examples of this benign rite of neighborliness, on any given summer weekend there are block parties all across the region.
As in Ambler, many municipalities require the party throwers to get a permit. Often, proof of neighbors' acquiesence, such as a petition, also is required. Philadelphia charges $20, although in a lot of places the permit is free. Ambler police provide trash containers and barricades.
In Philadelphia, residents are advised to buy their own yellow "caution" tape.
And while no firm data are maintained on block parties, there are some indications the practice is growing.
In the last four years in Philadelphia, there has been a 15 percent increase in block-party permits issued, said June Cantor, a Streets Department spokeswoman. She identified the first week of June through the second week of September as the peak season.
In Cherry Hill and Burlington Township, officials said they had seen a definite uptick in permit applications.
"In the last three to four years, there's been a noticeable increase," said Mary Fields, deputy Burlington Township clerk. "Fifteen years ago, you might have had three in a whole summer. Now you might have three communities in one weekend."
A bad economy, pushing people to pool their resources to afford fun, could be one explanation. But Fields said she thought something else was going on.
