The national event is to allow residents to meet police officers and fight crime.
Jean L. Fitzgerald, left, organizer of the National Night Out Against Crime event in Chicopee two years ago, walks with Chicopee Police Lt. John F. Pronovost. The 17th annual night out was held in that city in 2010.Beth Hogan and her neighbors have 10 good reasons people from East Forest Park should attend the first National Night Party in their neighborhood.
There is free food, a chance to meet neighbors and set up playgroups or find pet sitters, opportunities to chat with police officers and, the number one, to have fun.
“It is a little more than National Night Out, it is a community picnic. I think we have a lot to celebrate here,” said Hogan who joined with some of neighbors to organize East Forest Park’s first Night Out.
National Night Out, which involves all 50 states, started 29 years ago and has spread. The idea is to have communities gather on Aug. 7 in a show of force against violence, drugs, gangs and crime. Police typically attend to meet residents and demonstrate some of their special units.
Springfield does the National Night Out big. With the addition of the East Forest Park party in Nathan Bill Park, there are eight different parties, mostly organized by neighborhood councils, said Sgt. John Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William Fitchet.
Police officers attend all eight. They meet neighbors, listen to concerns and answer questions, hand out toy badges to children and at some parties they do different demonstrations, he said.
“It is about the neighborhood coming together and taking a stand against crime. It is good to talk face-to-face with people instead of over the telephone,” he said.
Delaney said the events grow in popularity and size every year. For example the party at Allen Park Apartments includes pony rides, a dunk tank, clowns and free food.
“Everyone in the apartment complex goes and they get the message. It has proven to work in the past we have made good arrests,” Delaney said.
Hogan said she and her friends wanted to get the neighborhood together and revive the past community picnics held at Nathan Bill Park.
The neighborhood is still recuperating from last year’s tornado and this is a good time to celebrate, she said.
“It is a great place to live but we need to continue to create watch programs,” she said. “The key thing in Springfield is crime is a concern so we want to build relationships with law enforcement.”
Chicopee holds one large Night Out Against Crime one day before the national event. This year’s party will start at 5 p.m., Monday at Sarah Jane Sheman Park and end with a flashlight parade at 9 p.m.
The Willimansett neighborhood committee first organized the event 19 years ago. It has grown so much that a separate committee was formed to run it, said Jean Fitzgerald, the event founder and committee chairwoman.
This year the committee will hold a breakfast to honor the Chicopee and Massachusetts State Police who responded to the April 13 shooting on West Street, where Carlos Gonzales-Lauger sprayed downtown with nearly 100 bullets, injuring a State Police trooper and a bystander. He eventually committed suicide.
The picnic is expected to attract more than 3,000 people. City Councilors will grill hot dogs donated by two School Committee members, police and fire departments will give demonstrations, children can play on bounce houses, there will be a wing eating contest between high school students and the Credo skate shop will do a bike and skateboard demonstrations, Fitzgerald said.
“We always do it for crime prevention but this year the community wants an opportunity to thank the police officers. They go out there every day and put their lives on the line,” she said.
In Palmer, the Three Rivers Fire Department is organizing this year’s event. The Palmer police and ambulance, and the Palmer, Bondsville and Three Rivers fire departments, as well as the Palmer Community Emergency Response Team are all expected to offer interactive displays. Palmer Events Planning will grill hot dogs.
The event will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday in the Divine Mercy Parish parking lot on Main Street.
National Night Out in East Longmeadow will include a food drive for the East Longmeadow Emergency Pantry, organizer Albert Grimaldi said.
Activities kick off at 5:30 p.m. at East Longmeadow High School, 180 Maple St. Grimaldi said there will not be any parking allowed at the high school this year.
“Because we have a ton of activities we will be moving all parking to St. Michael’s Church next door,” he said.
This year’s activities will include a custom car show, a scavenger hunt, face painting and a car extraction demonstration by the Fire Department. The Forest Park Zoo will bring a petting zoo and Baystate Medical Center blood mobile will be available for anyone interested in donating blood.
Grimaldi has a line up of activities on his website www.eastlongmeadowweather.org.