Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia (left) and Chicopee Mayor John Vieau (right) talk to the crowd about this year’s National Night Out event.
Reminder Publishing photos by Tyler Garnet
CHICOPEE — Chicopee hosted its 31st annual National Night Out on Aug. 6 at Sarah Jane Sherman Park.
This annual event featured a record 120 vendors, making it the largest National Night Out in the city’s history.
The free, family-friendly event is designed to strengthen community ties and promote positive relationships between residents and law enforcement. Attendees can enjoy a wide variety of activities, including free food, interactive photo booths, local resources and more.
This community event 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. Last year, Chicopee’s National Night Out event climbed to 13th place in the country, after being ranked 22nd in 2023.
The award is based on the population of the city and how many people show up to the event.
Travis Odiorne, public information officer for the Chicopee Police Department, said, “We’re hoping to get a little bit higher this year if we can.”
The event also featured K9 demonstrations, a wing eating contest, performances from different school musical groups, and concluded with a flashlight walk.
Reminder Publishing photo by Tyler Garnet
Police Chief Patrick Major talked about the importance of building relationships between the Police Department and community.
He said, “This is a cooperative effort nowadays in law enforcement, and the job we do every day to protect our community, we couldn’t do it without the help of everybody else.”
Commander of the 439th Maintenance Group, 439th Airlift Wing, Westover Air Reserve Base Colonel Jordan Murphy was also at the event to share a message.
He said, “Thank you for the wonderful relationship with the city of Chicopee and the local law enforcement along with our teammates as well. We talk a lot about the importance of defending our community, being a tight knit community and we’re incredibly grateful for the tight military support that we get from our organizations. On behalf of team Westover, we’re grateful for the support you all give us and looking forward to the relationship continuing for weeks and years to come.”
Mayor John Vieau was joined by Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia, to which they both expressed their appreciation to their local first responders.
Vieau talked about how the event has grown and said, “I want to thank the committee for putting together this amazing event. There’s over 122 vendors and Chicopee is really proud to share all these wonderful experiences with you. Building public trust is what this is all about. Building those relationships with the Police Department, the Fire Department and your elected officials in your community. That’s what National Night Out means to the city of Chicopee.”
Garcia talked about the importance of having strong relationships with neighboring communities.
He stated, “Everyone that works so hard here — day in and day out — in the city of Chicopee, are doing it for good quality of life for the people that are living here and are visiting here. I am so humble and grateful to be working side by side with my colleague in government Mayor Vieau, and making sure our communities here in greater region, Pioneer Valley, Western Massachusetts, that we have good, strong leadership to be sure that we’re looking out for the best interest of our people.”
