Friday afternoon, my staff and I participated in the National Night Out event hosted by the Petticoat Junction Police Department. The event is held nationally by law enforcement agencies in an outreach effort to community members who may not have the best relationship with first responders, as well as providing a fun evening for the community members who do.
We had attended the event hosted by the Hooterville PD earlier in the month, but, I can say with zero hesitation that the Petticoat Junction event was far superior. For one thing; Petticoat Junction provided a lot more activities for kids, which meant that we weren't solely responsible for their entertainment. Petticoat Junction also did a better job of entertaining the adults, while encouraging more participation from the first responders, and they did this in the form of a Police vs Firefighter relay race that involved staff from several local law enforcement agencies and the Petticoat Junction Fire Protection District.
The event was held at the park immediately adjacent to both the Police Department and the fire station, which meant we had a nice grassy area on which to set up our bubble stations and games (Hooterville held their event on the cement plaza in front of the police station, which made for slippery concrete around the bubble bins). We chose to set up fairly close to both the bouncy house and the dunk tank, so the kid's activities were in the same general vicinity.
Speaking of kids; both of mine attended! I had picked up Queen B earlier that morning and she was stoked to hear that her dad would be volunteering for the dunk tank later that evening, because of course she was. Both she and the Man-Cub made sure to get in line for a chance to dunk their dad.
Mom and the Daughter-in-Love were also on hand to watch the dunking, which they enjoyed, thoroughly (Shanti also loved the bubble stations, as one does).
The weather fully cooperated, making for a gorgeous evening, plus there were freshly grilled hamburgers and hotdogs, and; not just any hotdogs, according to Mom, but "actual Ball Park Franks!" (Mom is a hotdog connoisseur, who knew?).
It was actually a really enjoyable evening for everyone, my staff and myself included, despite the fact that we were working on a Friday.
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