By Dawn Burleigh

The Orange Leader

 

BRIDGE CITY — While most of the nation celebrated National Night Out in August, Bridge City, along with many other cities across the state, celebrated it on Oct. 2.

The state of Texas, along with some cities in the Southeast, celebrate National Night Out on October 2, 2018, to avoid the brutal heat of early August, according to the official website for the event.

In 1981, the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) was founded to connect community watch programs across the nation and provide them the resources they needed to make a difference in their neighborhoods.

In 1984, the NATW officially introduced National Night Out as a night where community members and local police officers would band together to meet with each other, discuss community safety concerns, and celebrate the neighborhoods where they live. It is a night for residents to forge a positive bond with the law enforcement officers that are tasked with protecting their community.

Unfortunately, this year the city of Vidor had to cancel its event due to the saturated grounds from the recent rains.

Over 38.6 million communities participated in the 2018 events across the nation as well as 16,377 unique neighborhoods.

“It was a huge success,” Bridge City Chamber of Commerce Director B.J. Hanneman said. “We had over 40 businesses and organizations participate this year.”

Bridge City Chamber of Commerce held its 3rd annual National Night Out on Tuesday at the Bridge City Park Pavilion. The free family-friendly event was open to all Bridge City/Orangefield area residents. Attendees were treated to free food, games, give-a-ways and lots of children’s activities courtesy of local businesses and organizations.

“There was so much going on from Bridge City Volunteer Fire Department giving tours of their new fire truck, Acadia Ambulance had handouts and gave tours of an ambulance,” Hanneman said. “There was everything from ice cream to popcorn.”

Allstate’s Liz Hogan provided an ice cream truck for the event and Redfish Rental provided light towers for the event.

“Everything was free,” Hanneman said. “The city allowed us to use the pavilion without a charge because the participates were not being charged to be there.”

By Hanneman estimates, approximately 2,000 people turned out for the event on Tuesday.

“It gets bigger every year,” Hanneman said. “We will need to consider parking option next year.”

To learn more about National Night Out, visit https://www.securitychoice.com/wp-content/national-night-out/index.html