Lake County communities planning National Night Out

Ten Lake County communities are among the more than 100 towns in Illinois taking part in the 29th annual National Night Out this month.

Sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, National Night Out is an effort to unite police and community members against crime and drugs. It has grown from traditional small celebrations and front porch vigils to full-blown festivals in some towns.

Most communities will hold their event the evening of Aug. 7, though there are some exceptions.

Lincolnshire will be participating for the first time this year with a festival-like event from 5 to 8 p.m. Aug. 7 at North Park, 1025 Riverwoods Road. Local public safety organizations, including the Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District and Lake County Sheriff’s Office K-9 unit, will be at the park giving demonstrations.

Squad cars will be available for children to explore and other equipment will be on display. There also will be a “CSI”-themed exhibit where children can learn how to dust and lift fingerprints and watch a footprint casting being done. Information will be available about crime prevention, and police will be helping parents create identification kits, a resource for locating missing or abducted children.

Food and beverages from local restaurants will be on-site for purchase.

Barrington will hold its Night Out this Thursday, Aug. 2, to coincide with another popular community event.

“It worked out well with an event that we have once a week during the summer, which is our Cruise Night (car show) on Thursday nights ... which draws a pretty large audience,” said Village Manager Jeff Lawler. “So the police department thought that it would be a better venue to have more people attend.”

The event takes place from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday on South Cook Street, between Station Street and Lake Street. Activities include face painting, live music, games and fire truck and ambulances for children to climb on and explore.

Other Night Out events in Lake County communities include:

ŸAntioch: 7-9 p.m., Aug. 7, Antioch Band Shell, 901 Skidmore Dr. Activities include a Police K-9 demonstration, DNA kits for parents and hands-on fire truck and police car displays.

ŸBuffalo Grove, 5-8 p.m. Aug. 7, Willow Stream Park South, 651 Old Checker Road. Activities include business expo, inflatable attractions, free picnic dinner and live music from The Neverly Brothers. Participants also encouraged to bring nonperishable food items to the Buffalo Police Challenge trailer to be distributed at local food pantries with support from the Northwest Suburban Interfaith Council.

ŸFox Lake, 7 p.m. Aug. 7, in the Round Hill subdivision. Community members will be going on a neighborhood walk starting at the park on Kingston Boulevard.

ŸLakemoor, 5-9 p.m., Sept. 18. Activities will include tractor rides and Flight for Life emergency helicopter, emergency vehicles and special equipment display.

ŸLincolnshire/Riverwoods, 5-8 p.m., Aug. 7, North Park, 1025 Riverwoods Road. Activities include Lincolnshire-Riverwoods Fire Protection District “hands-on” hose, vehicle extraction and rappelling demonstrations, K-9 unit demonstration from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and NIPAS Emergency Services Team and Mobile Field Force members display. Food will be available for purchase. Additional parking available at Banner Day Camp, adjacent to North Park.

ŸMundelein, 6:30-9:30 p.m., Aug. 7, Santa Maria del Popolo parking lot at corner of Seymour and Courtland. Starts with flashlight walk. Activities include an obstacle course, slide and face painting. Cotton candy and popcorn will be served.

ŸRound Lake, 5-7 p.m., Aug. 7, Round Lake Police Department, 741 W. Townline Road. Activities include police dog demonstrations, family movie in the park, car cruise and puppet show. Free hot dogs and popcorn.

ŸRound Lake Beach, 5-8 p.m. Aug. 7, Round Lake Beach Lakefront, 1019 Lake Shore Drive. Car show for cars, motorcycles, trucks and SUVs. Barricade from the movie “Transformers” will be coming from the Volo Auto Museum.

ŸRound Lake Park, 6:30-9 p.m., Aug. 7, Round Lake Park Police Department, 215 E. Main St. Activities include a motorcycle and car show, magician and clown shows and police vehicle displays. Free hot dogs and popcorn.

ŸVernon Hills, 4-8 p.m. Hartmann Park, 292 Oakwood Road. Activities include games, inflatables and volleyball tournament.