advertisement

National Night Out events draw big crowds throughout the suburbs

Officer Edwin Alva was joined by over a thousand friends and neighbors who flooded Spring Street in downtown Elgin on Tuesday in one of eight National Night Out events organized by officers from the Elgin Police Department.

Elgin joined a list of suburbs in celebrating the event, held each year on the first Tuesday in August as an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie.

It was Alva's fifth time organizing a party on the street where he serves as a resident officer in the Resident Officer Program of Elgin. The street is also about two blocks away from where he grew up.

  Hugo Jimenez, 8, hangs on tight to a mechanical bull during National Night Out festivities in Elgin on Tuesday. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com

“This is really such a fulfilling experience,” Alva said. “The concept of bringing the community together is something that I’ve always wanted to do, and this was my goal when I accepted the position as a ROPE officer.

“It’s wonderful to be able to do this in the community that I was raised in,” he said.

Alva has been a resident officer for five years. As part of the program, officers live in specific areas of town as part of the city's community policing initiative.

Scores of National Night Out events were held around the suburbs on Tuesday.

  Bubble artist Jason Kullom, originally from Buffalo Grove, entertains at the Buffalo Grove National Night Out event at the Mike Rylko Community Park in Buffalo Grove on Tuesday. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com

In Buffalo Grove, the crowd jammed to the local Pino Farina Band while bubble artist Jason Kullum, originally from Buffalo Grove, had a continuous flock of jumping kids around him.

The longest continuous line for food was for Wild Fork, which is mainly an online meat service. It also has a local location.

  Pino Farina, lead vocalist of his namesake band, entertains at the Buffalo Grove National Night Out event at the Mike Rylko Community Park in Buffalo Grove on Tuesday. He and most of his band grew up in Buffalo Grove. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com

Wheaton’s National Night Out featured a SWAT obstacle course, dunk tank, fishing with police and a helicopter landing at Northside Park.

Aurora hosted 27 neighborhood events around the city while Carol Stream featured a live band, children’s games, activities, costumed characters strolling through Town Center, giveaways, food and treats.

The party on North Spring Street in Elgin was organized by Alva and the department, with the help of the nearby Salvation Army, local churches, and various businesses and organizations.

Music filled the air in front of his house as he and local resident Celia Lopez put on a display during the “Cha Cha Slide.”

“This is a perfect display of what Elgin is about, the way the community can come together as one, really coexist and have a good time,” Alva said.

  Luz Ortiz, 4, smiles as she sees her painted face during National Night Out festivities in Elgin Tuesday. Rick West/rwest@dailyherald.com

The party also featured a mechanical bull for kids, a dunk tank, face painting, inflatables and food, including hot dogs grilled by police officers, tacos, Pinches Miches and more.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.