National Night Out Canceled For Friday In Hatboro

HATBORO, PA —While other National Night Outs were postponed in the Philly region Tuesday due to weather, Hatboro was planning to be among the first to hold the annual event.

But now Debby Downer has struck.

With the remnants of the hurricane expected to hit the Philadelphia region this weekend, Hatboro officials have canceled the event.

There is no makeup date planned.

"The decision to cancel this event was not taken lightly but was deemed necessary to ensure the safety of attendees and participating agencies/organizations," borough officials said. "Residents and business owners are encouraged to remain weather aware and exercise caution during tomorrow's forecasted storm."

Hatboro will hold National Night Out from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Friday at Miller Meadow Park on South York Road across from Loller Academy.

The event heightens crime and drug prevention awareness and builds police and community partnerships.

It is co-sponsored by the Hatboro Borough Police Department, the Greater Hatboro Chamber of Commerce, and the Borough of Hatboro.

There will be games, prizes, giveaways, and entertainment.

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 41st year of the event will involve millions of people from 16,500 communities from all 50 states. Click here for more on National Night Out.

National Night Out is designed to heighten crime prevention awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships, and; send a message to criminals that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

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.