MONSON — The Monson Police and Fire departments will jointly host the fourth annual Monson Public Safety Night Out on Oct. 5 from 2-6 p.m. at Veteran’s Field.
The “completely free” event will feature activities, food and resources shared by community organizations, including Boy Scouts, Cub Scouts and the Monson Free Library, Monson Fire Capt. and paramedic Lisa Hamill told Reminder Publishing. Other community partners will be The Better Bean, the Drug Addiction and Recovery Team (DART) and Taqueria La Siguanaba as well as the Democratic and Republican town committees.
At the event, residents will get a chance to see the Springfield Thunderbirds’ mascot Boomer and the Worcester Railers’ mascot Trax as well as first responders and public safety officials from Monson, the state and surrounding towns, Hamill said. Free concession food and a free raffle of two bicycles from Woodbine Country Store will also be offered. The event is targeted toward both children and adults.
Activities will include traditional field day games such as an egg toss, three-leg race and cornhole in addition to a bounce house, an archery game and a viewing of classic cars, Hamill stated. Public safety vehicles will also be available for children to sit in from the Fire, Police and Highway departments.
This year’s event will be the arena for the fourth match of the Police vs. Fire BBQ Cookoff, Hamill noted. In this competition, visitors will be able to taste the barbecue from each department and vote on their favorite. The winning department will receive a trophy as the new reigning champion. As the winners in 2023, the Monson Fire Department will enter the competition as the current champion. The department also previously won in 2021 while the Monson Police won in 2022.
This year’s Public Safety Night Out will be “bigger and better,” Hamill emphasized. While the event previously saw 200-300 visitors, she stated that this year the organizations are anticipating 300-500 visitors from Monson and the surrounding towns. Hamill and Police Lt. Nicholas Gasperini are organizing the event.
Monson hosted its first Public Safety Night Out in 2021 after being modeled off of National Night Out; an annual event hosted on the first Tuesday in August to encourage connections between residents and local law enforcement agencies in towns across the country. Instead of hosting its own National Night Out event, Monson Public Safety decided to focus on hosting a “more community-based event,” Hamill said.
She explained that the Fire and Police departments have been working to “push” the partnership of the two departments as Monson Public Safety due to their shared role of “working together to make Monson a better place to live and raise kids.”
Furthermore, Hamill highlighted that the Public Safety Night Out was an opportunity for local organizations to “showcase” their work in the Monson community and seek new membership. For new residents, the event displays local resources and organizations as well as a chance to connect with other residents.
Through Monson Public Safety, the Police and Fire departments are looking “present a unified front,” Hamill said. “We are at their service as first responders … We are happy to work hand-in-hand.”
Even if only for a short while, Hamill encouraged anyone to visit the event on Oct. 5 to meet community partners, try some free food and enjoy the event.
