GOSHEN TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Goshen Township will host its annual National Night Out celebration Aug. 4 behind Marr-Cook Elementary School, offering free family activities including a car show, bounce houses, a dunk tank and food trucks, according to the township.
The event runs from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at 6696 Goshen Road. Goshen Township firefighters plan to spray attendees with hoses to help cool off the crowd, the township said. Vendors are also scheduled to take part.
National Night Out began in 1984, when neighbors in a Philadelphia suburb turned on their porch lights and gathered outside for an evening as a stand against crime. The event, founded by Matt Peskin through the National Association of Town Watch, has since grown into an annual campaign held the first Tuesday of August in thousands of communities nationwide, according to the association. It is designed to build relationships between police departments and residents through informal gatherings such as block parties and cookouts rather than official law enforcement business.
Goshen Township Police Department, founded in 1971, provides round-the-clock law enforcement across the township’s roughly 34 square miles and about 16,500 residents, according to the department. The agency describes its approach as “Professional-Friendly Policing” and says it works to build partnerships with residents, schools and businesses throughout the community.
Goshen Township is governed by a three-member board of trustees elected to four-year terms.
The information contained in this story was obtained from Goshen Township.