FREE BARBECUES, MUSIC and more are a traditional part of the National Night Out events that bring community members together with local law enforcement and first-responder groups to encourage community watch programs. Ridgefield Chief of Police Carrie Greene is shown here at a past event. This year’s event will take place on Tue., Aug. 4 at various parks around Clark County.
FIRST RESPONDERS, SUCH as the ones pictured here from Clark County Fire and Rescue, will be on hand to meet and mingle with community members during this year’s 32nd annual National Night Out. Cities throughout the nation, including La Center, Ridgefield and Yacolt, will participate in this year’s crime-prevention event on Tue., Aug. 4.
THE FAMOUS BLACKPEARL Friesian Dance Troupe, featuring horses known for their high-stepping trot and luxurious manes, much like the Friesian horse shown here, will perform at La Center’s National Night Out event from 6 to 9 p.m., Tue., Aug. 4, at Holley Park, 1000 E. 4th St., La Center.
It takes a village to raise a child – and to fight crime. That’s the premise behind the National Night Out event, sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, which encourages neighbors to come together for a night, meet each other, celebrate the good in their community and talk to their local law enforcement officers.
“We’re going to have a going away party for crime,” joked La Center Mayor Jim Irish, talking about his city’s upcoming National Night Out event.
La Center, along with Ridgefield and Yacolt, will take part in the national event on Tue., Aug. 4, by hosting a variety of events, including a community-wide barbecue with live music and 35 vendors in Ridgefield; a dancing horse troop and “impairment goggles” in La Center; and a dunk tank, sock puppet show and rootbeer float stand in Yacolt.
“It’s fun to watch the sober people put on the impairment goggles and try to walk the straight line,” Irish said. “I would encourage everyone to attend.”
Now in its 32nd year, the National Night Out event is a chance for local law enforcement and firefighters to mingle with the populations they serve, and for community members to learn about ways they can help prevent crime in their neighborhoods.
In 2014, the National Association of Town Watch – the group that sponsors the annual National Night Out event – kicked off a new program called the Dog Walker Watch, which trains average citizens to become more alert and aware of potential crimes during their daily dog walks through the neighborhood.
In cities that take on the Dog Walker Watch program, interested citizens receive an hour-long training from local police and learn how to observe and report possible criminal activity like residential burglary. Although the program targets dog walkers, who tend to walk the same path each day, around the same times, any interested citizen can take part — even if they don’t have a dog.
This year, the town of Yacolt will be participating in the Dog Walker Watch program.
“This is really new and we’re very excited about it,” said Yacolt Clerk Cindy Marbut about her town’s participation in the Dog Walker Watch program.
Following is a list of planned National Night Out activities in our area. All take place on Tue., Aug. 4:
La Center
6-9 p.m., Holley Park, 1000 E. 4th St.
Hosted by La Center’s police and fire departments, this event will feature burgers and other food, as well as two performances by the BlackPearl Friesian Dance Troupe, which features the beautiful Friesian horses — known for their shiny coats, high-stepping trots and flowing manes. Visitors are asked to bring one can of food per person to donate to the Lewis River Food Bank.
Ridgefield
6-8 p.m., Abrams Park, at the end of Division Street, off of North 5th Avenue, near the Union Ridge Elementary School
This is the town of Ridgefield’s 10th annual National Night Out event. Last year’s crowds topped 1,100 and town official expect even more visitors this year. The event features a barbecue, live music courtesy of students at the local Opus Music School, a disc-golf course and 35 vendor booths.
Yacolt
6-8 p.m., Yacolt Town Park, 202 W. Cushman St.
Yacolt will celebrate the event with a variety of family-friendly activities, such as a sock puppet show — and free sock puppet making booth — courtesy of the Yacolt Community Church, a dunk tank, visits with the town’s first-responders and SWAT team, information about Yacolt’s participation in the national crime-prevention Dog Walker Watch program, and free polish hot dogs, chips, cookies and rootbeer floats.
