Phoenixville's National Night Out Celebrates Community Spirit

Phoenixville held its National Night Out on Tuesday night, along with other communities across Montgomery and Chester County and around the country.

The event offers law enforcement and other agencies the chance to interact with the public and build ties.

Communities around Pennsylvania and the United States were coming together on Tuesday night just as Phoenixville was descending on Grace Crossing Community Church, which hosted the event.

The event is designed for families, and it’s supposed to be fun.

There was face painting for kids.

There were arts and crafts, games, raffles, and free food.

Praise Band, the band of Grace Crossing, was playing music throughout the night.

There is a festival atmosphere to the event, but with an underlying purpose: to show criminals that neighborhoods are organized, united, and that they will stand behind their law enforcement agencies in fighting crime.

And there are more than just games.

On Tuesday, Phoenixville Fire Department, Phoenixville Police, and Friendship Fire Company Diving-Rescue Unit, along with the Phoenixville Town Watch were at the event, hosting tables, demonstrations, and offering the public a chance to meet the men and women behind some of the community’s most vital organizaitons.

Local U.S. Congressman Ryan Costello (R-PA 6) attended several of the Nights Out in the area, including Phoenixville’s.

“National Night Out is an evening designed to promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, better places to live,” he said in a Facebook post. “We appreciate the service of our first responders this evening and every night of the year.”

Every year since 1984, the National Night Out brings together community members, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses, neighborhood organizations, and local officials from over 16,000 communities in all 50 states, as well as in US territories, Canadian cities, and military bases across the world.

In 2014, over 40 million people participated in the 2014 National Night Out event.

Images courtesy Rep. Ryan Costello and the Phoenixville FIre Department.