The popular annual event National Night Out is just next week, and the Towns of Crawford, Montgomery and Shawangunk are all taking part.

National Night Out, according to their website, is an “annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships to help make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live. It seeks to strengthen the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement, fostering a true sense of community.”

The event will be on August 1 for all towns. Many municipalities host numerous activities at night, often serving food and drinks, having live music, hosting giveaways and more.

Pine Bush
Crawford’s National Night Out will begin at 6 p.m. right in their Town Park. After opening ceremonies, around 7 p.m., there will be a canine demonstration. There will also be a DJ for the event’s entirety, as well as food, snacks and drinks. On top of raffles, there will also be giveaways, touch-a-truck and stuff-a-cop-car.

“That’s where we ask local residents to bring school supplies to stuff one of our police cars full of school supplies so that we can donate them to needy families in late August before kids go back to school,” said Town of Crawford Sergeant Mike Mataraza.

There will then be cops-versus-kids laser tag at 8 p.m.

Sgt. Mataraza also emphasized why this event is important.

“When we started this three years ago we cloned the slogan stronger together. That’s just bringing the Crawford Police Department together with our local residents to build that stronger bond. It’s good to promote that the Crawford Police Department is here to help the community in any way that we can help them [and] not only in good times, but in bad times. We’re here to help and support and do whatever we can do to help our community,” Sgt. Mataraza stated.

Benedict Park

Over in Montgomery, which will encompass the Villages of Walden, Maybrook and Montgomery as well, the event will begin at 5 p.m. and end at 8 p.m. It will take place at Benedict Farm Park.

There will be free hamburgers, hotdogs and ice cream, as well as music and giveaways. At the event, attendees can engage in community resources, emergency vehicle Touch-A-Truck, a helicopter landing, and a Kids Baseball Home Run Event. The Orange County Sheriff K-9 and NYSP SORT Bearcat will also be present.The Town of Montgomery Police Department invites all residents to attend.

Hamlet of Wallkill
Finally, there is the Town of Shawangunk, who will host their National Night Out from 4 to 9 p.m. at Garrison Park in the Hamlet of Wallkill. Sergeant Nicole Brooks is putting it together, mentioning that for them, the purpose of the event is to intermingle the public and the department.

“It’s all about community policing. We want to get to know the public more and for the public to get to know all the members of the department. We are lucky to work for such a great town/community and they deserve to see they are appreciated by us for all of their support,” Brooks said.

They will have bounce houses, K9’s, a DJ, fireworks, food, fire trucks, bike raffles and more.

All of these community events are free, and locals are encouraged to attend to engage with their local police and fire departments, as well as local ambulance corps as well.