MIDDLEBORO — The National Night Out event brought together emergency service personnel and the residents they serve for an evening of connection and fun at Battis Field on Thursday, Aug. 14.

National Night Out is a community event that hosts area nonprofit and business booths, and offers demonstrations, outreach and activities to bring emergency services to residents for a night of family-friendly fun.

The event on Thursday has been the first since the Covid pandemic initially put the event on hiatus in 2020. Police Department organizers said National Night Out is now back-on-track with its goals of connecting different facets of the community through a social and fun evening.

“The point is to bring the community out for them to be able to see the Police Department, and all the employees of the department in a social setting — not when they call the services,” said Police Chief Robert Ferreira.

On Thursday night, dozens of attendees came to Battis Field to enjoy the sit-ins in fire, police and National Guard vehicles, meet police comfort dogs and see a police drone in-action above the field.

“There's a lot of different activities you can do. You can go in the trucks, get your picture taken, pet the dogs, watch a show, visit the booths. It’s great,” said Middleboro resident Gina Phelps who attended the event with her family.

The free three-hour event had booths from a range of area groups and businesses including area sports teams, the Middleboro Elks Lodge, Old Colony Elder Services, the Middleboro Public Library and Child’s Play Alpaca — who had llamas and goats in tow for attendees to pet and feed.

Free snacks, Junior Deputy badges, goodie bags and raffle prizes were given out at booths at the event. The town pool was also open late for attendees to enjoy.

Part of the event’s purpose is to show youth different kinds of after school activities to participate in. Steve Valerio, the Middleboro Police School Resources Officer at Mary K. Goode and Henry B. Burkland elementary schools, played a major role in organizing this year’s night-out, and said it feels good to see the joy at Battis Field.

“It’s about seeing the smiles on the children's faces. That's why I'm a School Resource Officer here in town. It's important to just be with the families and work with them, because that's the only way we can get our job done. We need everyone's help,” Valerio said.

A karate demonstration by students from the Budo Karate Academy took the field for about a half hour, where youth demonstrated karate techniques and moves for the crowd.

As the field cooled off after sunset, the final demonstration of the night ensued in the touchdown zone of the football field.

Middleboro Select Board Chair Mark Germain donned a safety-suit and played a nail-biting role in the police canine demonstration to round out the evening.

“It's just a great event. Kids are here. Communities are here. The pool is open. It's just a great time to give back without a cost for the town or the taxpayers,” Germain said.

“Doing the canine demonstration really doesn’t have a downside — it's fun for everyone to watch me get bit,” he added.