By Sara Beith Williams–
This year, 14 registered National Night Out events took place throughout Citrus Heights on Tuesday, Aug. 5, including some inaugural events, as well as events hosted at new locations that don’t typically see National Night Out events.
Citrus Heights Police Commander Kris Frey said the police department broke into teams and visited each event throughout the evening. Frey highlighted the importance of coming together in order to build relationships with community members across the city.
Notably this year, Sprouts Farmers Market hosted a large National Night Out Event in the store’s parking lot, which included free food and time to gather and socialize. Sprouts wasn’t the only businesses helping to sponsor a National Night Out event this year. 7-Eleven on Woodmore Oaks Drive in Orangevale also sponsored an event in partnership with the Woodmore Oaks Neighborhood Watch.
Neighborhood Area 1 held a National Night Out event at Lichen K-8, according to the city’s website, which included free hot dogs and other food, vendors and games and activities.
Citrus Heights City Councilmember Porsche Middleton participated in a Pokémon Go party at San Juan Park on Mariposa Avenue. The event included food, games, and a special focus on catching Pokémon using the popular gaming smartphone app, Pokémon Go.
Citrus Heights Area Seven Eight Nine moved their annual National Night Out celebration from its annual location of C-Bar-C park to the campus of Foundation Christian Church off Wonder Street. Acting secretary for the neighborhood association Stephanie Martinez said the move was made due to the extreme heat experienced last year during National Night Out.
Martinez added that there were benefits to hosting at the church versus at the park, including easier access for setting up, the ability to use a kitchen, and plenty of indoor seating. The event offered many of the same things as last year, including hot dogs, chips, snow cones, cotton candy, and other desserts. A small crowd filled multiple round tables inside, socializing while they ate.
This year, Sylvan Old Auburn Road (SOAR) neighborhood association partnered with the Veterans Community Center and the Daughters of the American Revolution to host a National Night Out event at the Veterans Community Center on Sylvan Road. The event featured visits from the police department, music, games and barbeque food.
“Every year there are new neighbors,” Frey said. “There’s no better way to network with people, socialize and get to know one another, than by and breaking bread.”
National Night Out is an annual community-building event that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. According to Natw.org, National Night Out was introduced in August of 1984 through an already established network of law enforcement agencies, neighborhood watch groups, civic groups, state and regional crime prevention associations, and volunteers across the nation. The first annual National Night Out involved 2.5 million neighbors across 400 communities in 23 states.
