Chicopee’s National Night Out arrives at new location

The community enjoying the various vendors featured at Chicopee’s 32nd annual National Night Out event.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet

CHICOPEE — Chicopee’s 32nd annual National Night Out event on Aug. 10 at Szot Park featured hundreds of vendors and plenty of residents despite the new location.

The celebration occurred at Szot Park due to ongoing construction at Sarah Jane Park.

The free, family-friendly event is designed to strengthen community ties and promote positive relationships between residents and law enforcement. Attendees enjoyed a wide variety of activities, including free food, interactive photo booths, local resources and more.

It is one of the largest annual gatherings hosted by the city of Chicopee in collaboration with the Police Department.

Nearly 16,000 communities across the country participate in National Night Out, an event that promotes “neighborhood camaraderie.” At these events, public safety officers hold firsthand conversations with the public.

Aside from featuring over 100 vendor booths, the event also included K9 demonstrations, a wing-eating contest, a fly-over, a Chicopee Fire Department vehicle extrication demonstration and school musical group performances. It concluded with a candlelight vigil and flashlight walk.

Last year, Chicopee was a National Night Out award winner in the category for areas with a population of 50,000-100,000. Their National Night event also ranked 12th in the country.

In 2024, Chicopee’s National Night Out event climbed to 13th place in the country, after it was ranked 22nd the year before.

The award recognizes the population of the city and the number of people who attend the event.

Mayor John Vieau talked about the importance of building relationships between the community, the Police Department and other local businesses.

“What this is about is building those relationships with not just the Police Department but your elected officials, your neighbors, our stakeholders and all the businesses,” Vieau stated at this year’s event. “This is an opportunity for everyone to have the same identical experience, so whether you have a lot of money or no money, you can still have the same good time.”

Vieau expressed his appreciation to local first responders.“One thing about Chicopee is we love our Police Department, and we’re grateful for what they do every single day to protect us,” he said.

The event also featured a ribbon-cutting for a newly upgraded Chicopee Police Department ice cream truck. Vieau said it will serve as another great way for the Police Department to connect with the community.

Mayor John Vieau cuts the ribbon on the newly upgraded Chicopee Police Department ice cream truck.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet