Staff Report

ROCKFORD -Officers with the Rockford and Rockford Park District police departments will participate in an evening of fun, fellowship and food on Aug. 7 for this year’s National Night Out celebration.

The annual event runs from 5 – 7 p.m., and promotes partnership between police and the community to make our area a safer place to live.

“National Night Out is very important,” Rockford Officer Brian Squires said. “It’s how we establish relationships and we continue to make our fight against crime.”

This year’s festivities include a wake boarding demonstration by the Rockford Park District, two bouncy houses and an inflatable obstacle course, Rockford Fire Department’s educational “Smoke House”, an appearance by Ronald McDonald, free junior police officer shirts, a K-9 demonstration, and balloon twisting and face-painting.

There will also be more than 40 different vendors and plenty of good eats like hot dogs, popcorn and snow cones.

“We’ve been working on this since January,” Squires added. “When we think about what to bring, we thought about what mostly kids would enjoy and what information we could pass out to their parents.” R.