National Night Out coming Aug. 2
Date: 7/22/2010
July 21, 2010By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
CHICOPEE -- Organizer Jean Fitzgerald said the National Night Out is a fun event with a serious purpose: to help build relationships between the public and the police.
The 17th annual National Night Out will take place from 5 to 9 p.m. Aug. 2 at Sarah Jane Sherman Park off of Meadow Street.
Fitzgerald brought the concept to Chicopee and the first event attracted 50 people to Rivers Park. Last year's Night Out drew 2,000 participants.
She explained the evening would feature free food, activities and music as well as a wing-eating contest between the football teams of Chicopee High School and Chicopee Comprehensive High School.
There will be a bounce house and face painting for younger children, a skateboard area and video game kiosks for older children, she said.
The goal is to allow residents "to see the police in a different perspective," she explained. The evening also allows children to view the police as "positive role models."
The climax of the evening will be a flashlight parade with participants marching along city streets carrying flashlights and accompanied by police cruisers.
"The parade for me is always the best," she said.
The evening is sponsored by the city's Patrolman's Union as well as Firefighters Union, Chicopee Electric Light, Chicopee Village Townhouses and other businesses and contributors, she said.
