Princeton residents who were hit hard by floods hosting a homecoming block party to thank everyone who helped out

Photo: Contributed

Princeton at the height of flooding in November.

After months of rebuilding, cleaning up and hardships, a couple of Princeton residents want to bring back some cheer into their community with a block party.

Todd Davidson was one of the dozens of homeowners badly hit by the floods back in November.

"If you look at the map, we're kind of ground zero because we're right close by where the two rivers meet. So we hit pretty hard and it's been a very long recovery process," he said.

"But from the very beginning, we were absolutely stunned by the support that we got from people in the community here."

On the first day Davidson started working on cleanup after evacuation orders were lifted, he had 22 people show up. Friends, neighbours and complete strangers with buckets, shovels and sandwiches.

"Since then there has been an outpouring of support from so many different directions that we want to give back a little something."

Davidson said that his wife heard about the neighbourhood small grant program, administered by the Community Foundation of South Okanagan Similkameen, which offers individuals with a bright idea to bring a community-building project to life, ranging from a $50-$500 fund.

"So we decided to put in for it to do a neighbourhood block party, and so we were awarded the grant," he said, adding that an anonymous donor is helping out with the rest of the costs.

The block party has been named a homecoming, as people start to trickle back into homes.

"Many people are in transition and that's kind of a hopeful thing saying it's a homecoming because some of us have been back on the block for quite a while, and some others aren't there yet."

In the street that Davidson lives on, the Mennonite Disaster Service that has been around rebuilding homes since December has only just left last week.

"The homecoming thing, I guess is sort of because of the fact that they're gone now and it feels like we're kind of turning a page. But the truth of the matter is that it's still very much an individual story like everyone has their own situation."

"So the event is for anyone who was affected by the flood and in general, all of the people who opened their hearts or open their wallets or whatever, to help the people that were affected out."

The family-friendly event runs on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and will feature live music, games and food.

Attendees are asked to leave their pets at home.

Photo: Contributed

Photo: Contributed