On a beautiful evening Aug. 4, a few hundred residents enjoyed a fun-filled National Night Out celebration at the Gloucester City Middle School.
Youngsters ran through a course designed to create soccer flexibility and took shots at a blow-up goal, while adults mingled with local police officers and firefighters and traversed information booths lined up around the athletic field.
Sponsored by the Gloucester City Police Department, Fire Department, PBS Local 40, the Gloucester City Middle School and the Police & Fire Youth Connection, one of the highlights was the K9 demonstration.
“Thank you to everyone who attended our National Night Out event. It was wonderful to see so many happy faces on the kids. Every child who was there until the end received a prize to take home,” said Cheryl Sheets, a member of the Youth Connection group. “A special thank you to our volunteers who donated their time to work the event along with the following businesses/people who made donations for the event:
AlJays Towing, Duffy’s Fine Chocolates, Ed and Jen Cilurso, Esti Jewelers and Sunshine Flowers
Sunshine Flowers and gifts. Teamwork makes the dream work,” said Sheets, who also thanked Durning String Band for playing Mummers tunes, the Gloucester City Youth Soccer League for their demonstrations and tips to young players, and the Home Run Derby sponsored by the Gloucester City Little League’s District 14 Champions.
As families arrived at the field, they were welcomed by Gloucester City High School juniors High School juniors Kaylee Greenlaw and Jennie Huang, who provided them with a yellow paper bracelet.
Once inside the gate, attendees were treated to free hot dogs, chip, water ice, bottled water and cotton candy. The children got to go down the water slide, have fun in the bounce house and participate in yards game. There was also a temporary tattoo station and free prize raffles for the youngsters.
Sitting at the Gloucester Mustangs information table and giving out information about the youth football league were Chief Organizer Marci Hutchinson, President Mark Lewis and freshman coach Jason King, while Denise and Tiffany Glassman gave out leaflets about the Gloucester City Middle School PTO.
Representing the Youth Soccer League were President Jessica Connor, Vice President Justin Baker and Melissa Gettings.
Middle School teachers and staff hosted tours of the school for incoming students and their parents and guardians, giving them a chance to get familiar with their new school after graduating for Cold Springs.
The first-ever National Night Out event in the United States was held in 1984, and has since grown into large-scale community block parties, cookouts, parades, and festivals featuring local law enforcement and first responders.
Matt Peskin created the campaign while working with the Lower Merion Community Watch program in a suburb outside of Philadelphia. He started the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), and the first celebration featured an estimated 2.5 million participants in some 400 towns in 23 states.
The celebration Aug. 4 in Gloucester City this year was a lot of fun for children, teenagers and adults alike, who got a chance to socialize with friends and Gloucester City emergency personnel, and the committee is already making plans for next year.
