LYNNFIELD — A Healthy Lynnfield and Lynnfield Police Department partnered to host the town’s third annual National Night Out Tuesday evening.
National Night Out is a national community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships by hosting an event annually on the first Tuesday of August.
According to Diana DeLeo, A Healthy Lynnfield director, Lynnfield had not participated in National Night Out until 2023. She added that for the last two annual events, Lynnfield held basketball games with Lynnfield Police against the Lynnfield Youth Baseball coaches, but the event organizers chose to switch that up this year.
Tuesday evening’s event included a softball game with the Lynnfield Youth Softball coaches and Lynnfield Police Officers, which was “so much fun,” DeLeo said.
“I really love that we switched to softball this year,” she said. “I thought that was super fun because we were engaging with the Lynnfield Softball League, and it’s just different when you switch from one youth sports organization to another. It’s opening you up to new families that are coming because their spouses and their kids are coming to watch them, so that was awesome.”
In addition to the softball game, the event had inflatable bounce houses, a DJ, face painting, henna, and of course concessions. DeLeo said there were ice cream trucks, and she added that there were 170 sausages and 200 hot dogs, which were all sold out by the end of the night since there were more than 300 people in attendance.
DeLeo said there were also K9 demonstrations by the Lynnfield Police Department, which the kids and families “really, really love.” She added that there were activities for all ages.
Phil Crawford, A Healthy Lynnfield board chair and Select Board chair, said, “I just want to thank the vendors and everyone who participated — and in particular, the Healthy Lynnfield director Diana DeLeo and Captain Chris DeCarlo from the police department.”
DeLeo said the point of the event was “to celebrate community and the role the police department plays in building community.”
She said the National Night Out event evolves year after year as new people get involved and add their perspectives on what can be added. She added that this year’s National Night Out drew in the largest crowd Lynnfield has had, and she hopes the event continues to grow over the years.
“From A Healthy Lynnfield’s perspective, we’re the Town substance use prevention coalition, and for us, really showing that feeling of community and belonging we know is a protective factor for young people as they get older to keep them away from using substances,” DeLeo said.
“It’s awesome that the police department recognizes that and partners with us,” she said.
