Bubbles, Beats, and a Street Full of Play
During the summer of 2026, Lloyd EcoDistrict hosted an intern from the University of Oregon’s Portland Internship Experience program, Yawen Lei. If you came to any of our Lloyd Live at Dock events, POP Party, or cleanups this summer, you like saw Yawen! She also helped plan and run one of our Play Streets. We asked Yawen to reflect on her time planning and hosting the Play Street event in Lloyd:
During the ninth week of my internship with Lloyd EcoDistrict, an idea I had been working on for weeks finally came to life. Bubble & Beats was created with a goal: to turn the street outside Home Forward’s The Louisa Flowers into a space where families could come together, kids could play freely, and neighbors could enjoy an afternoon outside.
For three hours, the street outside The Louisa Flowers became a space for play. Around 100 people joined us, with kids drawing on the pavement, families sharing food, neighbors talking, and bubbles floating through almost every corner of the event.
The Bubbles were actually the part I was most nervous about. I had been excited about the idea from the beginning, but two bubble machines suddenly felt like a lot once I imagined adults trying to eat and talk while bubbles flew past them. I wondered if something that sounded fun during planning would feel completely different in real life. Instead, I watched kids chase them across the street while everyone else carried on with their conversations. Seeing that made me smile. Sometimes an idea really can be as simple as it sounds.
I spent much of the afternoon at the button-making station. I had designed a few options with cute cartoon animals, a few coloring templates, and we also had some blank designs for anyone who wanted to create their own. Many adults initially assumed the activity was meant for their children, and I found myself telling them, “You can make one too.” Soon, I was helping people of different ages make their own buttons. One of the adults even came up with six designs of his own and eventually chose three to turn into buttons. I loved seeing how differently everyone approached the same activity.
One of my favourite moments was reconnecting with a little girl I had met at the mural painting event. We recognized each other at the button-making station and ended up chatting while she worked on her design. It was a small moment, but it reminded me how much I enjoyed getting to know people in the Lloyd community throughout the summer.
A few residents also came up to me during the events and asked, “How often do you do this?” I was really happy to hear that because it showed me that people enjoyed the event enough to want to experience it again. This was my first time helping lead a block party, so seeing people stay, talk, play, and enjoy the space made all the planning feel worth it.
As my summer internship comes closer to an end, Bubble & Beats is an event I will remember. I learned a lot from planning it, but I think my biggest takeaway was how much I enjoy meeting people through this kind of work. I came into the event thinking about activities, supplies, and whether people would show up. I left thinking about the conversations I had, the people I recognized, and how good it felt to see neighbors enjoying something we had created together. I hope we’ll see more events like this in the Lloyd District next year.
Photos from the Play Street
