National Night Out Returns Tuesday In Buffalo Grove

BUFFALO GROVE, IL — It's a tradition going back nearly 40 years as National Night Out returns across the country on Tuesday. Held annually on the first Tuesday of August, the family-friendly event will be held again this year in Buffalo Grove.

In a partnership between the police department and park district, the free event will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Willow Stream Park, 651 Old Checker Road. There will be a business expo, greetings from the Buffalo Grove police and fire departments, free giveaways, food trucks and vendors. Live music begins at 6:30 p.m. with Serendipity, a band that covers popular music from the 60s, 70s, 80s as well as current pop hits.

There will also be a food drive. Attendees can bring non-perishable food items, which will be collected and distributed through local food pantries supported by the Northeast Suburban Interfaith Council.

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.

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.