"It's important to get an education:" Neighborhood hosts family-friendly back-to-school event

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- Kids head back to school on Tuesday, September 2nd, and a Milwaukee neighborhood gave them a proper sendoff on Labor Day.

A couple hundred people came out for an annual block party near 21st and Nash.

It is an all-volunteer event.

Neighbors brought a dish to pass, and even the musicians donated their time.

Organizers say they wanted a safe, family-friendly event with a positive message.

"It's an opportunity for the family, the kids, the neighborhood to come together right before they go back to school to kinda say to the kids -- stop the violence.  It's important to get an education," organizer Andre Ellis said.

The event was started three years ago by an 81-year-old grandmother who wanted a positive gathering in the neighborhood.