Kids on Kirkwood: Bloomington’s townie summer begins with block party for families

Bubbles, whimsical music, and children running around—the area around Kirkwood Avenue in front of the Monroe County Public Library was like a community playground Wednesday evening (May 13).

The block between Grant and Lincoln streets on Kirkwood was closed off for the eventing with the city’s familiar yellow bollards.

“Family Night Out” kicked off the proverbial “townie summer” as the first of a number of events planned by city officials to activate Kirkwood and the downtown area.

The usage of Kirkwood during the summer was a much-debated topic earlier in the year, as it has been annually since 2020. This year, the city administration decided to reverse the approach adopted in 2025 to continuously close the avenue to vehicular traffic and promote outdoor dining during the summer months.

The city council, along with some downtown business owners, pushed back against the decision to keep Kirkwood open to cars. But the proposal that Bloomington’s board of public works eventually approved in late February was to allow Kirkwood Avenue to remain open to vehicular traffic, except for one-off occasions like Wednesday night.

This year’s proposal said the city would target resources to improve and expand the parklet program, enhance major events, like Taste of Bloomington and Pridefest, and create smaller promotional events. The promotional events are to be planned in partnership with businesses to activate the broader corridor and attract visitors to the Kirkwood and downtown corridor.

When Kirkwood activation coordinator Talia Halliday was awarded the consultant position in 2025, she was under the impression that the entirety of Kirkwood would be closed, but she’s happy where the city administration landed on the issue.

“As someone who’s lived here for many years, most of the time this is not activated, so it felt like a really, really, really big undertaking for me to take on to try and activate five closed city blocks,” she said. “I just don’t think it’s utilized as much as it could be right now.”

Wednesday’s event certainly succeeded in activating the area, as families gathered to enjoy what Halliday said was the first of five block parties planned for the summer and early fall.

“I just hope a dozen families come out and have fun. That’s my expectation,” she added. “We’re doing it every second Wednesday from now through October. We will probably add vendors and add food trucks throughout the season.”

Kelsey Thetonia, a resident who lives north of downtown, was there with her daughter who was very excited to get a face-painting of a fox.

“It’s great weather outside, and there’s lots of fun things to do for the kids,” she said. “I would love it if they kept the street closed for the summer like they have in previous years. So we’re gonna take advantage of it, because we enjoy the space, and then we enjoy being able to use the space differently.”

Ella Heckman had arrived at the event just after 6 p.m. and her kids ran straight to the bubble machine when The B Square caught up with them.

“We’re here because it’s just like a fun activity to do after school and work with other families,” she said. “I think this is a great compromise having this section of the street closed off once a month for kids to run around together with bubbles.”

A musical backdrop was provided by hurdy gurdy player Fred Meyer, a University High School alum and former member of 1960s local rock band The Gray. Meyer cranked out traditional tunes with his modern copy of an 1892 French instrument built in Wales.

Adding to the musical mix was Kid Kazooey, the stage persona of songwriter Kevin MacDowell.

That made for one enduring picture of the evening: children owning the space and running around without parents, holding hands, and dancing to a riveting live performance of “Fish on the Roof of the Court House,” a Kid Kazooey classic.

Videos: Kirkwood (May 13, 2026)