Chicopee’s National Night Out returns at a new location on Aug. 10

The community enjoying the various vendors featured at Chicopee’s 31st annual National Night Out event last year.
Reminder Publishing file photo

CHICOPEE — For its 32nd year, Chicopee will host its nationally-recognized rendition of National Night Out with the help of multiple vendors, organizations, businesses and public safety units.

Because of ongoing construction at Sarah Jane Park, the event will occur at Szot Park, 687 Front St., on Monday, Aug. 10, from 6-9 p.m, and the rain date will be Aug. 13.

Nearly 16,000 communities across the country participate in National Night Out, an event that promotes “neighborhood camaraderie” by having public safety officers available to talk with the public.

It’s an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make neighborhoods safer and a more caring place to live.

Aside from featuring multiple vendor booths, the event will also feature K9 demonstrations, a wing-eating contest and performances from different school musical groups. It will conclude with a candlelight vigil and flashlight walk starting at approximately 9 p.m.

Along with the Fire Department’s annual egg drop, there will also be a vehicle extrication demonstration.

Last year’s event featured a record 120 vendors, making it the largest National Night Out in the city’s history.

Officer Travis Odiorne, public information officer for the Chicopee Police Department, said the event currently has close to 70 vendors scheduled to attend, and the layout will be similar to the city’s Spooktacular events.

Some vendors will have free giveaways while others will offer information on different resources that community members can benefit from, including housing, food or other social needs. He added that he thinks this year’s night out will be a great time.

“This year’s National Night Out, much like all those in the past, is a collaboration from Chicopee police and other first responders from our community to give back to our community and also provide them with some services that they may not be aware of that our community offers,” Odiorne said.

Although National Night Out is a family-friendly and neighborhood event, Odiorne talked about the importance of residents getting the opportunity to meet and speak with their public safety officers.

“It’s always important for us to be out front with our community [and be] very approachable,” Odiorne said. “A lot of times, we don’t really get to interact with the community as much as we like to because we’re answering calls for service, so it’s just our opportunity to get out and get to see the name of the face with the officers and interact with a more personal level, as opposed to a crisis level.”

Odiorne said the event usually brings in around 3,000 people each year to interact with different law enforcement agencies and businesses.
Last year, Chicopee was a National Night Out award winner in the category for areas with a population of 50,000-100,000.

In 2024, Chicopee’s National Night Out event climbed to 13th place in the country, after being ranked 22nd in 2023.

The award recognizes the population of the city and how many people show up to the event.

The achievement reflected the hard work and dedication of city departments, community members and organizers who collaborated to make the event a success.

“It ultimately comes down to the community coming out and supporting us,” Odiorne said. “If they don’t show up to support these events, we don’t get nationally recognized. I think it’s good for the community to see that they come out and support us and that gets recognized throughout the nation.”