National Night Out Scheduled For Aug.6 In Edison

EDISON, NJ - Neighbors, get ready for another summer day of fun. The Edison Township Police Department will host National Night Out on Tuesday, Aug. 6 from 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. at Lake Papaianni.

The fun-filled event will include a movie, food, refreshments, giveaways, photos with McGruff the Crime Dog and many more.

The Splash Park will also be open to the first 100 attendees.

National Night Out began out of the Philadelphia suburbs. In the 1970s, Matt Peskin volunteered for Lower Merion's neighborhood watch, patrolling his neighborhood and often collaborating with local police. He found the collaboration between law enforcement and civilians to be successful and began collaborating with similar groups, establishing the National Association of Town Watch in 1981.

But Peskin decided something more was needed. So three years later, the association celebrated the first National Night Out, which involved 400 communities across 23 states.

The annual event has spread to 17,000 communities encompassing 38 million people, according to National Night Out's website. Many of the events combine festivities with education about local police initiatives.

National Night Out typically falls on the first Tuesday of August.