National NIght Out - Next Week

So I was just surfing through the August issue of the SWNI Newspaper (PDF) and came across the feature regarding the upcoming National Night Out parties.

There will be on in Multnomah Village on Tuesday, August 2nd, 6:00pm-?, at SW 33rd & Carson. For information, you can
contact: Chris at 503-245-4014. Now I'm not sure exactly where this location is. Sounds suspiciously like the Multnomah Center or environs. I'll have to take a wander this afternoon and locate Carson Street. I'll update with a specific location later - perhaps I should just call Chris.

FYI - National Night Out is a drug/crime prevention event. Information about the event is on this page of their website. This is along the lines of "take back the night" kind of events that you often see on college campuses. The idea of NNO is to promote the idea of neighborhood watch, get neighbors to know each other, etc. At the time these events began, neighborhood watch participation numbers (according to their site) were around 5%-7% of the population, increasing that number shouldn't have been hard.

Here's a quote frtom Matt Peskin, who came up with idea of "America's Night Our Against Crime" in 1984:

"It's a wonderful opportunity for communities nationwide to promote police-community partnerships, crime prevention, and neighborhood camaraderie. While the one night is certainly not an answer to crime, drugs and violence, National Night Out does represent the kind of spirit, energy and determination that is helping to make many neighborhoods safer places throughout the year. It [NNO] is a night to celebrate crime prevention successes - and to expand and strengthen programs for the next 364 days."

Might be an interesting event to stop by. Heck, Target's a sponsor - maybe there will be fabulous prizes!

And I should mention that the Portland Police's Sunshine Division will be collecting canned food at this event, so bring some along.