A girl has her face painted during last year’s National Night Out.
In its beginning nearly four decades ago, National Night Out consisted of people turning on their front lights, sitting on their porches and joining their neighbors in a town watch.
Today, the event has grown to unify communities and law enforcement nationwide in picnics, games and more.
Next month, the Harrisburg Police Bureau will host its second annual National Night Out. This year, the event will be held at the Camp Curtin Academy football field.
“[National Night Out] is really our heart and our passion,” said Blake Lynch, Harrisburg community policing coordinator. “[We want] to reach out to communities that are often forgotten. We want to make sure that we’re interacting in a positive light all around the city and that everyone has access to engage in a positive light.”
Like last year, the event will have free hot dogs, chips, Farm Show milkshakes, Kona ice and Hershey’s ice cream for people to enjoy. Community groups, including the Boys and Girls Club, Salvation Army, Friends of Midtown, UPMC Pinnacle, Rite Aid and many others, will have stands with information and giveaways. There will also be games and activities for children, such as bounce houses.
New this year are flyovers from the PA State Police helicopters and armored vehicles from the Dauphin County Community Emergency Response Team.
Last year, the Harrisburg Police Bureau was one of seven police departments nationwide to win the National Association of Town Watch Rookie of the Year award for the event. About 1,500 people attended, which Lynch hopes will grow to 2,000 this year.
“I’m pretty excited,” he said. “We’re looking to make it even bigger and better this year.”
In addition to the citywide event, some neighborhoods will continue to hold their own get-togethers, Lynch said.
Lynch said that he hopes National Night Out will strengthen community relationships, especially with local law enforcement and get neighbors to interact with each other, community groups and the police force.
“It’s about building positive community engagement and relationships,” he said. “The public gets to see the police in a different light. There’s a positive side of policing, which allows people to see that officers are just trying to do a good job, get out and meet people, and grow relationships and build a stronger, positive presence.”
National Night Out takes place Aug. 6 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Camp Curtin Academy football field. For more information, visit the city’s website or the National Night Out website.
