The Inaugural Princeton Block Party came about in 2010 when the first Princeton round-a-bout was being constructed and the Dunn Bridge and the east highway 95 bridge were replaced.  Retail businesses in Princeton were seriously affected by the substantial detour to get to town. Scott Berry, the owner of Berry Law Offices and David Haugen, then the president of Sherburne State Bank and now with Princeton Insurance, were at lunch discussing ideas on how to help the struggling businesses. 

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Scott and David conjured up the idea of an event that would draw people downtown and into our local businesses.  Despite the excitement of the initial idea, the timeframe to plan the event from concept to implementation was short.  In fact, Scott felt that they could not properly organize the first Block Party so when Joel Stottrup of the then Princeton Union Eagle (now Union Times) contacted Scott to get the scoop on the upcoming event, Scott told Joel not publish anything as he was unsure whether they could pull it off. 

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Despite Scott's urging, Joel contacted David who shared Scott and David's full vision for the Block Party and subsequently published an article. Without the publication of the article, it is likely that the Block Party would have not become reality and just remained an idea in the minds of Scott and David.  

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Ten plus years later, Berry Law Offices continues to organize and run the annual Block Party with the intention of bringing a fun community event to downtown Princeton.  However, the Block Party could not be put on without the generous support of Marv's True Value, the City of Princeton, Lisa and Loren Brix, Firehouse BBQ, our sponsors, volunteers, and all the members of our great community who come out to make this the premier Princeton event each year. 

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We will continue to strive to grow and add new events each year.  If you have any ideas, please contact us! 

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