Suddenly falling into a tank of water on a cold day is not Gary Lunn’s idea of a fun time. That’s why the assistant chief at the North Chicago Police Department is happy warm weather is forecast for Tuesday for this year’s annual National Night Out.
“Last year was freezing outside, but I took one for the team,” Lunn said of his turn in the dunk tank, one of many activities the city event will offer, along with other participating communities throughout Lake County.
According to the National Night Out website, the annual event is meant to be a community-building campaign promoting partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie. It was introduced in 1984 through a network of law enforcement agencies, neighborhood watch groups, civic groups, state and regional crime prevention associations and volunteers.
The first event involved 2.5 million people across 400 communities in 23 states, according to its history.
Most communities will take part on Tuesday, but others plan to host theirs on different evenings this week, as is the case with the city of Waukegan, which partners with the police department and the Waukegan Park District for one of the biggest National Night Out events in the county.
With previous attendance in the range of 3,000 people, Waukegan’s event planners prepare well in advance to have plenty of activities for the whole family. One of those planners is Park Supervisor Julia Sanchez, who said they chose Friday because families are always looking for something fun to do to start the weekend.
“We try to make it a very welcoming environment with music and activities,” Sanchez said. “It’s just a nice, relaxing evening.”
Waukegan’s National Night Out and the Park District’s Touch-A-Truck event have been combined, so along with food trucks and hands-on activities, there will be school buses, police vehicles and construction machinery for children to climb inside and pose for photos.
Each community and police department has an event budget to use for the event and each seeks sponsors, according to Lake County Sheriff’s Office Lt. Sara Balmes-Flores.
“It’s a great opportunity to meet local deputies and police officers,” Balmes-Flores said. “You get to have fun and learn about programs that the different departments offer the community.”
Some police departments have been hosting the event for decades. For Lake Villa this will be the second.
Lake Villa Police Chief Rochelle Tisinai said one activity that was very popular last year and was brought back this year is a LifeNet medical helicopter landing, creating photo opportunities.
Tisinai was also dunked in the dunk tank last year. It was one of the Lake Villa queens who did it, she said.
Each event promises to have food, music, games, give-aways and opportunities to meet and have fun with neighbors and city officials and employees. For the times and places of the National Night Out events, visit individual cities’ websites.
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