Police and neighborhoods come together for National Night Out
CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA (July 11, 2023) — Concord’s Dana Estates neighbors got ahead of the curve and held their own National Night Out (NNO) on June 22, in advance of other local events planned for Aug. 1.
Police and firefighters attended the Dana Plaza celebration, along with a K-9 officer and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), a volunteer division of the Concord Police Department.
NNO events have traditionally been held the first Tuesday in August since 1984. Many other Concord neighborhoods are planning their own parties on Tuesday, Aug. 1. Neighborhoods can request a police visit by registering at https://www.cityofconcord.org/1119/National-Night-Out by July 18.
More than just fun neighborhood social gatherings, they are a chance for residents to get to know each other and their local police officers. According to the Concord Police Department, it’s an opportunity to build important relationships that help keep neighborhoods safe.
Clayton
Clayton will have a citywide NNO 6-9 p.m. Aug. 1 in the upper lot of Clayton Community Park, 7411 Marsh Creek Road. Police Chief Rich McEachin says the event will include a DJ and food trucks, along with a patrol car and police motorcycle for viewing. Kids can also play in the newly remodeled playground.
“We’re really looking forward to getting the community back together. We haven’t had a National Night Out here in Clayton in a few years,” McEachin told the Pioneer.
“We used to do it more traditionally where each neighbor organized their own and we would just drop in and answer questions, have a hot dog. But it slowly dwindled down to just one neighborhood doing it, and then it just kind of fizzled out.”
Pleasant Hill
Pleasant Hill Police Department is also hosting a NNO party 6-8 p.m. Aug. 1 at City Hall, 100 Gregory Lane. The festivities will feature a BBQ, DJ, drone and police K-9 demonstrations, tours of a police car, fire truck and ambulance – plus a bouncy house and face painting.
While the key to NNO is community-building, each gathering is unique. A favorite part of Dana Estate’s annual event is the Cake Walk. This year, Mt. Diablo High School students also created balloon animals while collecting donations for Health Occupations Students of America, which promotes careers opportunities in the health-care industry.
For more information on National Night Out, visit https://natw.org.
Bev Britton
Bev Britton graduated with a degree in journalism from the University of North Dakota and moved to the Bay Area with her soon-to-be husband Jim in 1986. She was features editor at the Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek before becoming managing editor of the Contra Costa Sun in Lafayette in 1995. She retired from newsrooms in 2001, but an ad for the Clayton Pioneer drew her back in. The family moved to Lake Wildwood in the Gold Country a few years ago - but working at the Pioneer keeps her in touch with her old neighborhoods in Concord and Clayton.