Longwood’s National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, and better place to live. This unique event was hosted by the National Association of Town Watch and the City of Longwood and held at the Candyland Park. Some activities included the Annual Police vs. Fire Fighters charity baseball game, neighborhood watch information, gun safety, bounce houses, rock climbing walls and plenty of food! I was speaking to one of the Community Service Officers, Adam Bryant and he speaks passionately about his job “I’m here because I love serving the community I live in, I try my hardest to ensure a citizen’s safety and happiness. If I have to put my own time to make our community a better place then I’ll do whatever it takes”

The Longwood Police Explorers, which is a program designed to educate and involve young men and women in police operations to interest them in law enforcement functions whether they enter the law enforcement field or not, were at the event participating in watching over the safety of children in bounce houses and passing out stickers and putting smiles on children’s faces. “For the Explorers, when we work events our main job is to make sure the community is happy and welcomed with their visit. We also make sure the citizens in our community are safe and that no suspicious or violent activity is occurring” said Explorer, Anthony Gioielli.

In LNNO, there was many activities you could participate in like, learning and practicing martial arts with Hero Academy, face painting, as well as participating in several giveaways/raffles that local businesses have created so everyone could have fun! Towards the end of the activities, before the annual baseball game begins, a group of talented kids from Elevate Studios and Emotions Dance group performed that night who can dance, sing, and even rap! Parents and other adults enjoyed the show and even danced with the kids as well “

The 11^th Annual baseball game was between the Longwood Police Department and the Fire Department, many people crowded around the field shouting in excitement and anticipation to support their teams. The Firefighters ended up winning the game by one point with a score of 9 and the police department had a score of 8. If you’d like to participate in this event next year the information is on the park’s Facebook page and when you visit the website Longwoodfl.org. Hope to see you all there!