Agawam Police Officer Jeff Hichborn stands near a sign advertising the 2024 National Night Out. This year’s event takes place on Friday, July 25.
Reminder Publishing photo by Mike Lydick
AGAWAM — The Agawam Police Department and its community partners will be hosting Agawam Night Out on Friday, July 25 from 6-8 p.m. at School Street Park.
Nearly 16,000 communities across the country participate in National Night Out, an event which promotes “neighborhood camaraderie” by having public safety officers available to talk with the public.
Agawam has participated in National Night Out, which usually takes place nationally on the first Tuesday in August, for over a decade, but will be hosting their event on Friday to try to get more resources for their event, according to Agawam Police Department School Resource Officer Taylor Hartmann.
“We decided to make it on a Friday and put it an hour later, 6 to 8 [p.m.], so that we can get more families when parents come home from work and they can make it there,” Hartmann said.
Agawam Night Out has added multiple food trucks to the lineup as well as an inflatable obstacle course, free train rides on the roaming railroad, Jaws of Life demonstrations and police cruisers and fire trucks showcased to explore.
There will also be family friendly activities that promote safety awareness and community unity as well as some free giveaways.
Hartmann said it will be very similar to the annual National Night Out event and the department is expecting the Sheriff’s Department and National Guard to provide demonstrations or activities for the guests as well.
Hartmann talked about the significance of the event and said, “It’s really for bringing the community and law enforcement together and just building a relationship, and a lot of it’s aimed towards the kids because we give out free giveaways and the other tenets give out free stuff.”
After Agawam Night Out, there will be a free movie showing of “Inside Out 2” in the park at 8:30 p.m. Popcorn will be provided.
Although the event is mainly tailored towards kids, Hartmann said she hopes the food trucks and movie will bring in more than just families.
“Maybe people will want to just come and eat, or they just want to come and see the movie which is perfectly fine,” Hartmann stated. “We’re trying to make it bigger than other years, so hopefully we’ll do that.”
Agawam Night Out is a celebration of its shared commitment to safety and community. It is an opportunity to connect with neighbors, meet local first responders and create lasting memories that inspire a stronger, safer Agawam.
The event gives families and residents something to do on a Friday night, but Hartmann said the event also means more than that.
She said, “Even if you don’t live in Agawam, you can still come. You get to meet your local heroes per se; the Fire Department, State Police, [the Police Department], DPW. You get to know your local workers instead of just seeing them out on the street doing their jobs, you can actually talk to them and form a relationship with them. There’s always a bad view on police, so maybe coming and talking to us and showing that we’re good people that just want to help the town, hopefully that’ll make a stronger relationship in the community.”
