National Night Out moves to waterpark, is still ‘great way for community to interact’ with local police

Mark Howard’s daughter Lily was playing outside in a park last year when she met patrolling Highland Park police officer Ginger Stokes.

The two developed a bond, one that eventually led Howard’s family to visit Stokes’ home and for Lily to dress up as a police officer for Halloween last year. 

The Howard family was all smiles on Tuesday, Aug. 5, when they walked into Hidden Creek AquaPark and saw Officer Stokes scoop up Lily in a big hug. The relationship with Stokes was one of the reasons why they had come to Highland Park’s seventh annual National Night Out, Howard said. 

“They can’t outdo each other; they love each other. That’s like her fairy godmother,” Howard said. “A one-on-one relationship with my daughter and her, words can’t explain — it’s very important to me. She wants to be a police officer now, that’s how deep it is.” 

Highland Park city staff were seeking interactions like those as they organized the annual event aimed at fostering connections between police officers and members of the public. 

While typically set outside Highland Park City Hall, this National Night Out had families meeting officers poolside from 6-8:30 p.m. On scene were a dunk tank, inflatables, a petting zoo, and fire engines and squad cars for exploration.

“All the officers spend months planning it ahead of time and organizing it,” Highland Park Sgt. Amanda Duchak said, “not just for the kids but for the families to come together and have special events that the kids are interested in so we can get out there and meet them in a different type of manner instead of just on a call or something negative.”

“It’s really an opportunity for the community to come together, enjoy a summer day, meet members of our police department, learn about what they do,” Highland Park City Manager Ghida Neukirch said. 

The event also featured representatives from more than 20 different community organizations, like the Highland Historical Society, Highland Park Community Foundation, Moraine Township Food Pantry and Rebecca’s Dream, a nonprofit that spreads mental health education. 

“It’s been really nice to see the kids invested and engaged in the message,” said Hillary Treschel, a representative from Rebecca’s Dream said. Hillary Treschel, another rep from nonprofit, added that their table had attracted a few people interested in becoming board members.

The Park District of Highland Park’s Director of Recreation Nick Baird noted that the water park is one of the park district’s best assets in the summer months and partnering with police for National Night Out allowed parents to come swim for free who might not otherwise be able to. 

“I think it’s a great way for our community to interact with the police department and see that they’re not scary, they’re friendly people, they engage, they have fun just like we all do, and that’s an important aspect — to join those two and merge them together,” Baird said.

At least 370 people were in attendance at the National Night Out, including youth from the summer’s Junior Police Academy program.

Children lined up to jump in the bounce castle, drop officers in the dunk tank, pet goats and see a drone demonstration in the parking lot. 

Attendees could also participate in a raffle to join the Shop with a Cop holiday fundraiser event and get a tour of the Highland Park police department. 

“It’s kinda fun just to come out and hang out with your friends, play the games. It’s kinda cool to see everything and hang out with (police officers), say hi, talk to them,” said Anderson Kinsey, who was in line at the dunk tank. 

Vonda Love came to Hidden Creek AquaPark on Tuesday unaware it would be a city event. But as a parent of two young children living with autism, she was grateful for the opportunity for her boys to practice being comfortable talking to officers.

“Both my kids are autistic so teaching them about who to go to when it’s safe is important but hard for them to grasp,” Love said. “My other is 5 years old so he’s very wary of strangers — teaching him which strangers are safe to go to is something that we’re working on.”

Shelley Daniels, another Highland Park parent, attended last year’s National Night Out event with her children and said they were excited to come again this year.

In front of The American Legion Post #145 table, her daughter wrote a letter thanking the veterans for their service 

“I think we’re very grateful for our community and the police and the fire department and different parts of our community,” Daniels said. “Having our kids learn what they do is really important.”

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