The annual Evansville National Night Out Event was Tuesday evening at the CK Newsome Center.
This event brings together first-responder agencies and other resources with games and food for the community
Speaking of resources— this will be the biggest local National Night Out since coming to Evansville in 1995.
Linda Jones, who retired with the Evansville Police Department (EPD), helps organize the event. She said there will be 77 vendors including the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office, EPD with various departments like the bomb squad and SWAT team.
“People can come out and they can see all of our first responders — the police department, the fire department, the sheriff's office, the prosecutor's office — all of the first responders, they're all at this event. And so they can meet them face to face.”
This event also serves as an introduction of first responders to children.
They will also have their equipment to show with lots of hands-on opportunities.
Jones says everything, even the food is free.
CenterPoint Energy will be there along with public health resources.
Vanderburgh County Sheriff Sheriff Noah Robinson said it’s an avenue to make continual connections with the residents, young and old.
“I just get a kick out of watching kids interact with uniformed sheriff deputies and police officers,” he said. “I like talking to kids and answering their questions.”
“It's just a great way for the community to see all the equipment that you know that their Sheriff offices and police departments have to offer, and all the different roles that the sheriff deputies and police officers perform.”
Robinson said the event has its roots in neighborhood crime prevention strategies.
He said aside from helping children and the public be more comfortable with first responders, it can also help them to recruit applicants.
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