Police and community members gathered throughout Lansdale Borough, Upper Gwynedd Township and Montgomery Township Tuesday evening as part of the National Night Out initiative.
National Night Out is an annual event held throughout the country on the first Tuesday in August. The event builds relationships among local law enforcement and community members, and beyond establishing outreach opportunities for the police department, the event is also an opportunity for community members to meet other first responders including members of the fire and emergency medical services.
Events across the North Penn area featured vendors for local organizations like Laurel House, Mission Kids and Manna on Main Street. There were also dunk tanks and games, bounce houses, canine meet and greets and emergency vehicle displays and tours. The events also provided free hotdogs and included food trucks including Madd Sweets, Funella’s Funnel Cakes, Wrap N’ Roll, and water ice from Little’s.
In Montgomery Township, there was live music from Keith Garner, a princess meet and greet, face painting, and balloon artists.
Upper Gwynedd Township, who previously went from neighborhood to neighborhood on National Night Out to meet with community members, began hosting a centralized event in Parkside Place in 2022, said Upper Gwynedd Township Police Chief David Duffy.
“It's always great when we can interact with people when it's not an emergency, because people don't call us when they’re having a good day,” Duffy said. “So, opportunities like this are really appreciated by everyone.”
Lansdale started participating in National Night Out in 2017, and the number of attendees continues to grow each year, said Lansdale Borough Police Chief Mike Trail. He hopes that in the future, the borough could hold a bigger event elsewhere with even more attendees.
The most important aspect of the event is “getting out there in the community and letting them know that we're here for you,” Trail said.
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