Area residents are invited to lock their doors, turn on their outside lights and join with neighbors and police, fire and rescue personnel for a night of food, fun and fellowship during Tuesday’s National Night Out gathering in downtown Pilot Mountain.
From 6-8 p.m. on Aug. 2, the Pilot Mountain Police Department will serve as local host for the annual event, dubbed the 2017 National Night Out. Other participating agencies will include the Mount Airy Police Department, the Surry County Sheriff’s Office, Surry County 911 Communications, the North Carolina Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE) Division, the Pilot Mountain Rescue Squad, the Pilot Knob Fire Department, Surry County Animal Control and the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.
Activities will take place in the Town Hall and Pilot Mountain Police Department parking lot, off Main Street.
Those attending will be treated to an assortment of games and activities for all ages. Agency personnel will be on hand along with information and equipment to meet and greet residents. Free hot dogs and drinks will be served on a first come-first served basis.
“We want to invite the community to come out to meet and spend some time with the people their first responders,” Pilot Mountain Police Chief Darryl Bottoms said. “We’re inviting our neighborhoods to stand together with police to send a message against crime and drugs. This will help us to strengthen our relationship with our neighborhoods at a time when that’s needed across the nation.”
Bottoms said the department has hosted the annual event locally since 2007. The night is a part of a nationwide effort which has been going on for over 30 years.
The National Night Out, billed as “America’s night out against crime,” is sponsored annually by the National Association of Town Watch. The organization describes the event as “an annual community building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, better places to live.”
According to the organization, participants join each year from communities in all 50 states, US territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide.
“We want people to come out, enjoy some free food, meet these folks and ask some questions,” Bottoms noted. “It’s a free evening of fun and it gives us all an opportunity to show cooperation and form partnerships for the future.”
