You have the right to remain entertained.
This year’s annual Bainbridge-based National Night Out celebration, the 10th, promises to be bigger and better than ever.
Begun in 1984, the National Night Out program is a yearly community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie.
According to the National Association of Town Watch, which founded the program, “Millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide on the first Tuesday in August.
“Neighborhoods host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and various other community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, visits from emergency personnel, exhibits and much, much more.”
This year on Bainbridge Island, the “much, much more” will include the return of numerous party staples — such as the chance to “touch-a-truck” and other emergency response vehicles, meet and chat with Bainbridge Island Police Department officers and firefighters, scarf ice cream bars, hot dogs, doughnuts and popcorn, and get informed about emergency preparedness — as well as new additions, too, like a giant inflatable slide and obstacle course, the chance to let loose with an actual fire hose, and a live Coast Guard helicopter water rescue demonstration.
The island department’s new K9, Officer Whitney, an 80-pound bloodhound puppy, will also be in attendance.
The entire event is free, and will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6 in Waterfront Park. Search “Bainbridge Island Police Department” on Facebook to learn more.
Though no official estimate of last year’s crowd exists, BIPD Community Resource Officer Carla Sias said volunteers prepared 1,000 hot dogs — and they ran out before closing time.
Lesson learned.
“This year I’m ordering 1,500,” Sias said. “I always go based off hot dogs, even though I know not everyone eats them.”
Despite it having been a rather big year for the island department — progress has at last been made regarding the proposed new headquarters building, staffing has fluctuated, key leadership has experienced personnel turnover — Sias said the National Night Out event is less about current events and more about fostering a general connection between residents and the police.
“In the 10 years we’ve had chiefs come and go. I think as long as the face of the event is BIPD, I think it has become bigger and bigger each year. This is my seventh year coordinating it and that’s always been my goal, to get more people to come and keep it free.”
It’s important, Sias said, for the officers to take a night and reconnect with the community in a less official way because many of them do not get that chance otherwise.
“You don’t get that opportunity very often,” she said. “So this venue allows that friendly atmosphere and interaction. Sometimes when you go on a call you can’t stay and have that conversation because there’s another call pending.”
Sias and her husband, BIPD Sgt. Ben Sias, will both celebrate 20 years with the island department in September. They were hired on the same day, went through the academy together, and have seen the relationship between island residents and police change and improve through the years.
“In that 20 years there have been a lot of ups and downs,” Sias said. There have been a lot of times when the community and police relationship has definitely been stressed.
“When I first started it was good and then we kind of hit some bumps and definitely, I think, the trust level with the community was at an all-time low since I’d been here,” she added. “But I think with Chief [Matt] Hamner coming on board and just his philosophy of being totally community oriented and having that expectation of the officers and encouraging it, and obviously creating the role that I’m in, community resource officer, I think definitely the relationship that we have with the community now is probably the best that it’s ever been.”
