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RACINE – Neighbors came together at 36 Racine locations Tuesday evening for food, games, music and good old socializing.

National Night Out (NNO) marked 32 years of the annual event in Racine. NNO, designated for the first Tuesday in August, is designed to bring neighborhoods together throughout the U.S. NNO sites in Racine included community centers, Community Oriented Policing (COP) Houses, churches and block parties.

Also on Tuesday, NNO’s local coordinating organization, Racine Neighborhood Watch Inc., celebrated its 40th anniversary of promoting community-oriented crime prevention.

Scattered rain showers on the city’s south side temporarily halted activities at a few sites, but people took the weather in stride.

“This is the exciting part to find out that everything went well,” said Susan Feehrer-Laack, Racine Neighborhood Watch’s interim executive director. “We’re already getting pictures sent to us from all over. It looks like everybody had a really good time.”

Organizers were expecting as many as 4,500 participants at this year’s NNO sites. Feehrer-Laack said she’ll send a survey to the site coordinators in the coming days to gauge participation and how to make NNO better in the future.

Then, planning will start for next year’s NNO – scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024.

Neighbors come together all over Racine

National Night Out West Racine

Here’s a sampling of pictures from the NNO West Racine site at the Living Faith Lutheran Church parking lot, 2915 Wright Ave.

Neighbors at National Night Out NNO
Racine firefighters and their equipment stopped by the NNO locations. Other visitors included Racine Police officers, Racine County Sheriff’s deputies and elected officials. – Credit: Paul Holley
Neighbors at National Night Out NNO
Boy Scout Troop 222 set up a demonstration camp and scouts assisted with kids games and clean up at the West Racine NNO event. – Credit: Paul Holley
Neighbors at National Night Out NNO
Zumba dance instructors got everybody moving. – Credit: Paul Holley
Neighbors at National Night Out NNO
Cups of fresh sweet corn (elote, Mexican street corn) were a big hit! – Credit: Paul Holley
Neighbors at National Night Out NNO
Neighbors young and old enjoyed an outdoor picnic of grilled hotdogs, chips, watermelon and sweet corn. – Credit: Paul Holley
Neighbors at National Night Out NNO
NNO fun included games and a chance to win prizes. – Credit: Paul Holley

Dr. John Bryant Community Center

The NNO gathering at the Dr. John Bryant Community Center, 601 Caron Butler Drive, was going in full force as well. Here are a few glimpses of what was happening at that location.

Neighbors at National Night Out NNO
Friends, families and neighbors gathered to eat together at the NNO. – Credit: Denise Lockwood
Neighbors at National Night Out NNO
The City of Racine Public Health Department was at the Bryant Center with helpful information for the community. – Credit: Denise Lockwood
Neighbors at National Night Out NNO
Volunteers offered treats and smiles. – Credit: Denise Lockwood

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Racine County Eye and Kenosha Lens – Journalism that serves.

Paul Holley is retired from careers in journalism, public relations and marketing but not from life. These days, he pretty much writes about what he feels like writing. You may contact him directly at:...

Denise Lockwood has an extensive background in traditional and non-traditional media. She has written for Patch.com, the Milwaukee Business Journal, Milwaukee Magazine and the Kenosha News.