The Clarkdale Police Department, along with participating agencies including the Jerome Police Department, Yavapai Apache Police Department and Yavapai College Campus Safety, will once again be grilling free hamburgers and hot dogs and providing chips and soda for the community as National Night Out returns to Clarkdale Park at 1001 Main Street on Tuesday, Aug. 5, from 5 to 7 p.m.
“National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, better places to live,” the U.S. Justice Department’s website reads. “It began in 1984, when the Justice Department awarded a Bureau of Justice Assistance grant to establish [NNO] with the goal of helping foster relationships between communities and law enforcement. Over the past 40 years, [NNO] has partnered with over 17,000 communities and has positively impacted the lives of over 38 million Americans. Most neighborhoods participate in the annual celebration on the first Tuesday of August.”
Clarkdale has taken part in NNO since 2011 with typically about 600 Verde Valley residents attending, however despite the larger turnout parking has not historically been an issue according to Operations Manager Jennifer Julian.
“We do have several other organizations that attend and so far this year, we’ve got confirmed Verde Valley Ambulance, Verde Valley Search and Rescue and Cottonwood Police Department Communications Center,” Julian said. “We’re still finalizing the schedule and waiting on confirmation from some participants, but typically the event features booths from educational and government organizations with activities for kids and information for the whole family.”
Some of the highlights for Clarkdale’s National Night Out 2025 include:
■ A Tae Kwon Do demonstration by KC’s Family Tae Kwon Do
■ Drone demonstration
■ The popular dunk tank
■ First-responder vehicles for kids to explore
Attendees can also support the Clarkdale Police Department by purchasing raffle tickets, with proceeds going directly to the department’s bulletproof vest fund.
The Cottonwood and Sedona Police Department have typically been having a similar public outreach night in recent years during the month of October.
For more information visit CPD’s Facebook page @ClarkdalePD or call (928) 634-2921.
