A young resident gets ready to dunk Fair Haven Mayor Benjamin Lucarelli at the borough’s 13th National Night Out Aug. 4 KAYLA MARSH/STAFF Amid a sea of red, white and blue balloons, bouncy houses and dunk tanks, residents both young and old came out to celebrate an evening of fun, laughs and getting to know the individuals who keep them safe on a daily basis.
National Night Out, held nationwide this year on Aug. 4, was established as a way for members of communities to get together and to meet the members of their local police departments.
Fair Haven held its 13th National Night Out at the borough’s community center behind its police department headquarters on Fisk Street while Little Silver took the fields behind its borough hall on Prospect Avenue to host its first National Night Out event.
“This is a great way of getting kids and families to come out, have a good night and to meet the members of the police department,” said Fair Haven Detective Stephen Schneider, who has been organizing the event for several years.
“We don’t want to be perceived as bad or not nice, so it’s great that residents can come out and see us having fun … and just being normal people.”
Fair Haven’s free, three-hour event saw residents enjoying a variety of activities including a tour of a MONOC helicopter, K-9 demonstrations with the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and canine Tango and karate demonstrations by Fair Haven Martial Arts.
“We just want people to be able to come in, enjoy their time, not to worry about money … basically just keeping it a nice, lighthearted environment,” Schneider said.
One of the highlights of the event, according to Schneider, is being able to share the spotlight with local businesses.
“I rely on the businesses, and we have a lot of great ones here that have helped to make this event possible,” he said.
“They really help us out by coming out and having items and prizes for the kids, and it also helps them get their own information out there about what they have to offer,” Schneider said. Sgt. Sherri Lambert said she is excited to see how much Schneider has added since she started the National Night Out event in the borough 12 years ago.
“When we first started out, our first year we did a march around town,” she said. “It’s a night out against crime, so we basically marched around with glow sticks chanting … and it has grown from there.”
Some of the additions: a bounce house featuring Justice League superheroes on the outside donated by the Fire Department, a game house featuring several activities including ring toss and tic-tac-toe donated by the First Aid Squad and a dunk tank donated by the Foundation of Fair Haven where residents dunked officers and members of the borough’s council — including Mayor Benjamin Lucarelli.
“Community relations is what it is all about … building that rapport,” Lambert said. “This is our one event that we do to build that connection and get that foundation going so that people feel comfortable coming up to us and talking to us and seeing that we are real people as well.”
One town over, Little Silver Police Chief Daniel Shaffery said he was surprised and excited by the turnout for the three-hour event.
“We hear a lot of ‘we don’t know who you guys are,’ and we want to change that, so we decided to have a National Night Out to give people a chance to come out and meet us and have a positive interaction with us,” Shaffery said.
“Everyone has put a lot of time and effort into this, and it’s the first time we’ve done this, so we’re glad to see a lot of residents and vendors come out and support it,” he said.
Despite being unsure how their first National Night Out would go, hundreds of residents lined the fields to enjoy the music, games and demonstrations by the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office (with their K-9’s Edge and Skye) and emergency personnel.
“Lots of people helped to make this night happen,” Officer Andrew Smith said. “We are showcasing all the agencies we have in town, many of the local businesses … and it is great to be able to bring the community together in a positive way.”