The annual National Night Out program will take place this year on Tuesday, Aug. 6. Local neighborhoods are invited to participate in the fun.
Along with the traditional outside lights and front porch vigils, most cities and towns celebrate National Night Out with a variety of special events such as block parties, ice cream socials, cookouts, parades, festivals, visits from local officials and law enforcement, safety fairs and other youth events. Here's a list of scheduled events in Seattle.
If you're not attending (or up for organizing) a party on your own block, head to one of these community-organized events:
- Neighborhood Night Out at Rainier Community Center (Columbia City)
- Seattle Night Out Sunset Concert (Beacon Hill)
- Night Out at University Heights (U-District)
- National Night Out Against Crime Block Party (Kirkland)
- National Night Out and Summer Bash (Tacoma)
National Night OUt involves 38 million people in more than 16,000 communities from all 50 states and other places worldwide. This year is expected to be the largest ever.
If your neighborhood is interested in participating, visit the National Night Out website for a kit of "how-to" materials including planning suggestions, guidelines, sample news releases and promotional guides. There is no cost to register.
National Night Out is a yearlong community-building campaign designed to heighten crime prevention awareness, generate support for and participation in local anticrime programs, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.
To learn more about the initiative, visit www.natw.org.
