5 Points at Night

Lately I've started taking my dog, Eddie, for a walk at night before bed. It's nice to get out and just walk around and see the neighborhood. But lately I've been despairing a little at the lack of activity in our neighborhood. There were very few people out and about and even fewer even on their front porches.
My wife and I like to sit on our porch and drink coffee on the weekends, but our view is of I-10, so there isn't usually a whole lot of excitement on our street. You would think that other streets in the 5 Points area would be bustling with more energy, but the reverse is true. It seems that the days of neighborhood bar-b-ques, block parties and National Night Out get-togethers are over. I wonder what could get people out of their homes and enjoy the night air a little bit?
This is a question that we have asked ourselves often in our Neighborhood Watch Group. We still don't have an answer. I think we've all grown up for too long in sprawling sub-urban neighborhoods where everyone lives on a 2 acre parcel of land and your neighbor is so far away that you just don't even care to go over and say hello. We've gotten to the point where, in an age of instant communication all over the world, we've lost the simple skills of "chit chat". I count that as a big loss in our society, and especially in our generation. But then we do have First Friday's and ArtWalk and the Riverside Arts Festival and I'm sure one or two others that I am forgetting. If we can get together for these events on a regular basis why can't we get out on a regular night and just say "hello"?
Last night I walked past three people. One gentleman was doing some kind of work on his minivan and the other two were sitting (are you ready for this) on their porch playing a guitar. I made it a point to wave and salute each party as I walked by with Eddie in tow. Both times I was greeted with a smile and a return wave. This gets me to thinking that perhaps my fellow neighbors would like to be out on their porch drinking coffee/beer/whiskey/whatever with other neighbors. But how to get them out in the first place.
Our Neighborhood watch decided to do kind of a door-to-door recruitment to get people involved. We even had flyers and everything. So maybe that can work. I'm thinking about getting the word out and scheduling a "porch night". One night each month where everyone gets out on their porch or in their front yard just to chill for an hour or so. Say hello to a neighbor, learn their names, see them in their natural habitat, if you will. Perhaps this could be expanded into something more involved, like a couple of block parties or just getting people to walk around a little, see the neighborhood for all its grandeur.
Is this too lofty a goal? I hope not.