National Night Out Returns To Woodstock In 2021

WOODSTOCK, GA — National Night Out 2021 events in Woodstock Aug. 3 are part of a nationwide push to strengthen police and community relations.

The nationwide event “promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer,” according to the National Association of Town Watch, the organization that founded the annual early August event in 1984.

The Woodstock Police Department, in partnership with other local public safety agencies, joins forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the 38th annual National Night Out from 6-9 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 3, in the Park at City Center, 101 Arnold Mill Road in Woodstock.

This event will feature K-9 demonstrations, public safety equipment on display, Safekids, and more activities for children of all ages. Food and drinks will be made available courtesy of Hartmanlaw and prepared by City of Woodstock’s Mayor Donnie Henriques.

Other partnering agencies include: Drug Enforcement Administration, Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office, Cherokee County Fire and Emergency Services, Cherokee County Marshal’s Office, Cherokee County School Police, Cherokee County E-911 Center, Canton Police Department, Holly Springs Police Department, Ball Ground Police Department, and Woodstock Fire Department.

Public safety partners, including local businesses and organizations who work to make the community better, will also be in attendance.

For more information on National Night Out event in Woodstock, contact Officer JoAn Willingham at 770-592-6000, extension 1172, or email jwillingham@woodstockga.gov.

Since 1984, communities across the country have held National Night Out events on the first Tuesday of August. Block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and other community events have been popular ways to celebrate the outreach-focused event.

More than 2 million Americans took part in the first National Night Out. Now, the event is celebrated in more than 16,000 communities across all 50 states, according to the National Association of Town Watch.

Many National Night Out events are back in 2021 after widespread cancellations last summer due to the coronavirus pandemic.

For example, businesses in Marple Township, Pennsylvania, are donating goods to be used during a night of music, games and demonstrations. In Palos Hills, Illinois, kids can play in large inflatable toys, and a face-painter will be on hand at a local park.

Tim McCarthy, a retired Orland Park, Illinois, police chief, has called National Night Out “a great way for kids to meet their local police officers in a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere unlike an emergency setting.”

McCarthy, a former Secret Service member best known for taking a bullet for President Ronald Reagan in a 1983 assassination attempt, told Patch in 2019 that police officers “enjoy seeing everyone come back each year to see all that’s happening with the police department, and to have a fun evening.”