by Frank Lee
operations@thenewsleaders.com
National Night Out is a nationwide event on Tuesday, Aug. 2, but it will be observed locally that day in several cities and neighborhoods in central Minnesota, including St. Joseph.
The St. Joseph Manufactured Home Community near Kay’s Kitchen will host an invitation-only National Night Out event for the residents of that mobile-home neighborhood.
“Summit Management asked us to host a National Night Out celebration for the residents of our community each year,” said Kim Smith, a St. Joseph resident employed by the property management company that manages properties across the state and some properties in Texas.
The 33rd annual National Night Out, which is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, will involve more than 16,728 cities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases around the world.
On the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 2, residents in neighborhoods throughout the nation are asked to lock their doors, turn on outside lights and spend the evening with neighbors and police at, for example, block parties, cookouts, contests, youth activities and anti-crime rallies.
“We host a get-together to show unity,” Smith said of the invitation-only St. Joseph Manufactured Home Community National Night Out celebration on Tuesday, Aug. 2, which starts at 6 p.m. and ends at 9 p.m. “This year, our focus is our youth.”
In all, more than 38.3 million people are expected to participate in “America’s Night Out Against Crime” on Tuesday, Aug. 2.
“We have food, games and entertainment for the children, and we have bingo for the adults,” Smith said of St. Joseph Manufactured Home Community’s celebration. “We are doing at 7 p.m. an all-wheels parade where the kids are encouraged to decorate their scooters, bikes, strollers for the little ones, and we have the police department judging, and we’re handing out trophies.”
National Night Out is designed to heighten crime- and drug-prevention awareness; generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime efforts; strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships; and send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.
“We are a very diversified community in ethnicity and religion,” Smith said of the residents of the St. Joseph Manufactured Home Community. “We, adults, want to set an example for our youth that we are all one, no matter what our ethnicity, no matter what our religious beliefs are.”
The St. Joseph Manufactured Home Community near Kay’s Kitchen will host a by-invitation-only National Night Out event from 6-9 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 2, for the residents of that mobile-home neighborhood.
