Marquez Knolls Block Party Returns to Business District

By JENNIKA INGRAM | Reporter

Community members are invited to celebrate at the Marquez Knolls Block Party on Saturday, October 26, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Marquez Business District.

The goal is to bring the Marquez Knolls neighborhood, its merchants and the greater Palisades community together.

“We not only support the neighbors and the residents but the merchants,” said Haldis Toppel, event organizer and president of the Marquez Knolls Property Owners Association. “We invite the entire community to the event; we have wonderful, wonderful participation.”

Toppel added that the block party is all voluntary—nobody is making any money.

“The raffle tickets are going to all the residents,” Toppel said of the event. “We love dogs. It’s a safe environment.”

Toppel shared that she hopes the weather and smoke from the Palisades fire, which burned near Marquez Knolls starting Monday, October 21, will have settled down by the time of Saturday’s event.

The event, sponsored by MKPOA, will celebrate its 10th anniversary in the Marquez Business District after moving over from Marquez Charter Elementary School in prior decades.

“My husband, Kurt Toppel, who had lived in the Palisades since 1958, long before we met, had really been instrumental in supporting the Marquez area,” Toppel shared. “He’s the one that encouraged me 10 years ago when I was president at that time to start the block party up again, and it’s been a huge event.”

Free hot dogs and hamburgers, as well as clowns and entertainment, will be on site, thanks to ACS—one of the patrol services in the Palisades area that is sponsoring the event.

Slated to attend are Councilmember Mike Bonin to greet attendees and members of LAPD and LAFD. The Greg Alper Band, headed by Marquez Knolls resident and namesake Greg Alper, and its Junior Talent will be performing.

“That’s a wonderful jazz band and one of the highlights of the event,” Toppel said. “Greg Alper is not only a great musician, but also a great teacher specializing in children’s music … It is the pride of the musicians and their families.”

The annual event caters to grownups and kids alike. Parking on the streets is free for the day.