Shawano cancels National Night Out due to COVID-19

The Shawano Police Department has canceled this year’s National Night Out event due to COVID-19 concerns.

The event was initially postponed from its original date of Aug. 4 to Oct. 6 in hopes that COVID-19 health risks would have eased by then, the department wrote in a Facebook post.

“We were looking forward to gathering with our community, however we could not guarantee that our event could be held in a manner to keep people safe,” the department wrote.

The department thanked sponsors who had donated and said the funds would be applied to next year’s event, scheduled for Aug. 3, 2021.

National Night Out is a crime and drug prevention event sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, which introduced the program in 1984, when 400 communities in 23 states took part.

It has since grown nationwide, and this year’s canceled event would have been the third time the Shawano Police Department sponsored the event locally.

National Night Out is designed to heighten crime awareness and promote drug awareness, generate support for and participation in local anti-crime efforts like Neighborhood Watch, strengthen neighborhood spirit and police/community partnerships, and send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.