National Night Out Returning To Cherry Hill With Evening Of Festivities, Awareness

CHERRY HILL, NJ — Cherry Hill will soon be among communities across the United States celebrating National Night Out — an initiative to improve bonds between police and the public during an evening of family fun.

National Night Out in Cherry Hill is scheduled Aug. 6, when many communities will also celebrate the occasion. The local event will feature music, games, food, prizes and various demonstrations.

It will run from 6-8:30 p.m. at the Municipal Complex (820 Mercer St.).

National Night Out began out of the Philadelphia suburbs. In the 1970s, Matt Peskin volunteered for Lower Merion's neighborhood watch, patrolling his neighborhood and often collaborating with local police. He found the collaboration between law enforcement and civilians to be successful and began collaborating with similar groups, establishing the National Association of Town Watch in 1981.

But Peskin decided something more was needed. So three years later, the association celebrated the first National Night Out, which involved 400 communities across 23 states.

The annual event has spread to 17,000 communities encompassing 38 million people, according to National Night Out's website. Many of the events combine festivities with education about local police initiatives.

National Night Out typically falls on the first Tuesday of August.

Find out more about National Night Out and Cherry Hill's local celebration.