All things Stardew Valley.
I wish my soul could be healed with a supply of jalapeños poppers and black coffee. 🙁 So far no dice.
I worked with a library to start a little community pumpkin carving contest once, 10 years later I think it still lives on. Contact your local chamber of commerce, they might be able to point you to some resources/partnerships.
You could be that mayor Lewis. Someone has to build it.
Where would a random person start?
That’s a great question, and I guess it really depends on what you want to do and where you live.
Is first find a place to have the event and contact people who have authority there. If it’s your neighborhood, then the home owners association.
If it’s a park, then whoever runs the park.
I don’t live in America anymore and I could go to the neighborhood government about setting something up.
Absolutely. Like you, I'm trying to get involved in/build up my local community. I tend to a small farm, so I've been taking a page out of Stardew's book; it turns out most people really do like being gifted vegetables and animal products!
Honestly, small towns like this very much still exist. I just had to move from a small town in Kansas and I sorely miss it. They may seem hard to find, but it's because they're the ones you don't find on lists online.
If you engage in certain types of volunteering, you can get a similar feel. It's not exactly the same as a community event, but you get to know people with similar values to yourself.