March of the Martinis: it's a block party with a twist--of lemon, plus gin, vermouth, ice, and great neighbors. Laura Fraser on the delightfully icebreaking tradition known as the Martini Walk.(great drink)

SOME PEOPLE, WHEN THEY'RE NEW TO TOWN, INVITE the neighbors over for cocktails. But when Jonathan and Kimberly White bought a house in Hillsborough, California, in 1998, they brought the cocktails--martinis, to be precise--right to their neighbors. "We'd just moved in, we were sipping our drinks, and I said, 'Let's take a walk around the neighborhood,'" recalls Jonathan, a mergers and acquisitions adviser. Strolling the leafy streets with a long-stemmed glass seemed to invite interaction and inspired them to ask others to join the parade. Soon Kimberly and Jonathan were regularly filling their baby stroller with martini shakers, glasses, and olives, and rambling around the neighborhood, acting as the Pied Pipers of the after-work set. Neighbors who'd never spoken to one another were clinking glasses, laughing together, and trying not to spill. (Walking with a martini requires practice.)

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Thus began the first "Martini Walk," a (very) loose tradition now in its seventh year with eight chapters sprinkled up and down both coasts. Jonathan--the "Grand Martini" of the organization--says his walks have shaken up what otherwise might be a rather chilly neighborhood just south of San Francisco, where houses are hidden behind trimmed hedges and neat gates. "Most people drive into their garages and never see their neighbors." But by hosting a moving block party, he says, "we get to meet everybody."

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THIS EVENING THE WHITES are holding the Martini Walk season opener,

leading up to a cookout at the Tudor-style home they share with their three young sons. (Martini season, according to the Grand Martini, runs from the first Friday in May through the Friday after Thanksgiving--though Jonathan admits to practicing in the off-season.)

About 50 martini aficionados are gathered by the pool, munching on snacks from bowls shaped like oversize martinis. Some of the guests are neighbors (including an 84-year-old widower from down the block who likes his with an olive), some are colleagues, old friends, and friends of friends. "The Martini Walk is for all walks of life," says Jonathan. Many of the guests arrive decked out in martini-patterned pants and hats commemorating previous walks. Jonathan presents the "olive award" for Outstanding Achievement in Martini Walking to the Portland, Maine, chapter, which held nine walks ...