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Arts & Entertainment

National Night Out

On Tuesday, August 2nd from 6—9 PM, Lower Merion Community Watch in cooperation with the National Association of Town Watch (NATW) and the Lower Merion Police Department will sponsor the annual National Night Out celebration at the Ruby’s parking lot at Suburban Square. Carnival rides, live music, a giant slide and moon bounce as well as a dunk tank, clowns and great food are just a few highlights of this family fun event.

NATW is a nonprofit, crime prevention organization which works with thousands of crime watch groups and law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Since 1981, NATW has been dedicated to the development, growth and maintenance of organized crime and drug prevention programs nationwide and has grown to include over 6,500 crime, drug and violence prevention organizations. National Night Out, 'America's Night Out Against Crime,' was introduced by the Association in 1984.

The first National Night Out was introduced early in 1984 with 400 communities in 23 states and 2.5 million Americans participating. The 2009 National Night Out involved 35.4 million people in 11,310 communities from all 50 states,

While the traditional 'lights on' and front porch vigils remain a part of National Night Out, activities have expanded considerably over the years to include block parties, cookouts, parades, visits from police, festivals, neighborhood walks, safety fairs, contests, rallies and meetings.

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