AUBURN, ME – On Tuesday, August 6, the Auburn Police Department will take over Festival Plaza and Main Street for the city’s 20th annual National Night Out against crime. The event – which begins at 5:30pm and goes until dusk – will be an evening of family fun, live music, and tasty food for all Auburn residents to enjoy.

This is the 20th year that Auburn PD has hosted National Night Out, a FREE, anti-crime, public safety event. Police department staff and community partners will serve up hotdogs, beverages, popcorn, and plenty of family-friendly activities! There will be police, fire, and public works equipment on display, and many local community partners and non-profits will be on hand. There will be plenty of games and activities for kids, including an inflatable obstacle course, bounce house, face painting, balloons from the folks at Hammond Lumber, free iced coffee provided by Starbucks of Auburn (Starbucks is a national sponsor of NNO), and more.

Attendees will have the opportunity to meet Auburn PD K-9 “Brick,” connect with comfort dogs from Mission Working Dogs, and shoot hoops with local basketball legend (and international professional basketball star) Troy Barnies. The APD will also set up an impaired driving obstacle course to help encourage motorists to drive sober. There will be live music from local blues band, “Continental Shakedown.”

“For 20 years, National Night Out has been a chance for our team to show our strong commitment to community partnerships,” said Police Chief Jason Moen. “My officers and I really love this opportunity to connect with residents and share a fun evening together, all in the name of public safety.”

“We really enjoy getting everyone together each year to show the unbreakable police-community partnership we have here in Auburn,” said Deputy Chief Timothy Cougle. “When we connect like this, our city is stronger and safer. Having the support of our community partners makes this the best block party of the year.”

National Night Out, America’s annual “night out against crime,” is a unique crime/drug prevention event presented by the National Association of Town Watch. NNO is a national community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships. Each year, millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out across thousands of communities from all fifty states, U.S. territories and military bases worldwide on the first Tuesday in August.