Nation Night Out 2016, A New Ellendale Social Tradition
The 2016 National Night Out is Tuesday, August 2, and Ellendale Neighborhood residents will be participating.
“This will be our first social event,” said Jacqi Kamp, Vice President of the Ellendale Neighborhood Association and lead organizer of the festivities.
“We will be using the space of Slay Park (west of McCausland) where the new trail runs along Ellendale Avenue, between Emilie and Arsenal Streets.”
The location was chosen for its visibility and ease of access. No streets will be closed during the event, so residents attending are reminded to use caution crossing streets and to use sidewalks and the connector trial to access the event.
Setup begins around 4:30 p.m. with festivities officially starting at 6:00 p.m. Sunset on August 2 occurs at 8:10 and clean-up is expect to be completed by 9:00 p.m.
There will be a 10 ft. by 10 ft. popup canopy, lent to the event by Joe and Jenise Nea, set up to serve as the central focal point of festivities. Decorations, including event signage and balloons, have been donated by Jacqi Kamp, Angela Sebben, and Kathy Howard.
There will be a sidewalk chalk drawing contest. The contest juror will be S. Jewell S. McGhee, Ellendale resident and professional artist who has installations all over St. Louis and currently has a piece on Manchester in front of The Book House. “I can’t wait to see what creativity this neighborhood has!” said Jewell. For more about Jewell’s art visit www.sjewellsmcghee.com.
Some prizes have been donated for contest winners and attendance prizes. A generous donation of frozen ground beef has been made and Nathanial Kamp has volunteered to grill up some hamburgers. Buns and condiments have been donated by Tiffany and Barry Marquart. There will also be washer and bags games to play along with some other traditional skill games.
Kathy Howard, will be facilitating a fun walk along the new connector trail. Tiffany Marquart, will be providing face painting. Music programming will be provided by Ellendale resident John Sebben's online radio station, www.stlouisclassicrock.com.
Throughout the evening there will also be visits from the local fire company and local law enforcement as well as an Advanced Life Support ambulance from Abbott EMS. Note: City fire and police vehicles visit several NNO events throughout the day and evening and are only available for about 30 minutes at each location. Abbott is providing their ambulance for as long as possible during the event, but all agency vehicles are on-call and subject to be called away at any time.
“We are also encouraging residents to participate in National Night Out by turning on porch lights and getting out and talking with neighbors — a tradition of National Night Out since its beginning 33 years ago,” said Jacqi.
Residents visiting Ellendale’s celebration in Slay Park (west) may choose to bring a snack or side to share with others, bring lawn chairs, and/or simply have fun hanging out with fellow residents. Nine-year-old Veyah Luke-Kamp will have her lemonade stand serving lemonade and cookies. Veyah intends to donate half of her proceeds to the Neighborhood Association.
If you would like to volunteer or donate something to the event, please contact Jacqi Kamp (jacqi_beachler@yahoo.com or 314-303-0514).
What is National Night Out?
National Night Out is a nationwide event scheduled on the first Tuesday in August (www.natw.org). Many St. Louis area neighborhoods organize activities and participate in the program which is designed to:
heighten crime and drug prevention awareness
generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs
strengthen neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships
While the traditional 'lights on' and front porch vigils remain a part of NNO, activities have expanded considerably over the years to include block parties, cookouts, parades, visits from police, festivals, neighborhood walks, safety fairs, contests, rallies, and meetings.
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