Yelm's National Night Out activity to return on Aug. 6

In efforts to enhance its relationships with area residents and community members, the Yelm Police Department and the City of Yelm will host the area’s National Night Out event from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 6, at the Yelm Community Center.

Line Roy, the City of Yelm’s communications and recreation coordinator, said the event attracted somewhere between 1,000 and 1,500 attendants in 2023. She’s hopeful that the national community-building activity will be as popular this year.

“We’re hoping to bring back the same energy, the same positive community outreach, the same engagement as last year,” Roy said. “It’s super important to have our police department out there and meeting the people, getting to interact with them in fun ways that showcase how our department is very community focused and a positive group of people.”

Roy added that attendees can expect hot dogs from Steele Barrel BBQ and Yelm’s Grocery Outlet, root beer floats from Tim’s Pharmacy, snow cones from Kona Ice of Yelm, and the return of the always-popular dunk tank, which Roy said was her favorite memory from last year’s National Night Out event.

“The kids would get so excited when they’d dunk the police officers and get them into the water,” she said.

In addition to the food, re freshments and dunk tank, Roy said that local partners and sponsors will host games throughout the evening. She added that vehicle tours, a K9 demonstration and bounce house activities will also be featured.

“It’s a national event that’s held across the whole country at the same time every year,” Roy said. “It’s just such a fun way for the community and the police department to interact with each other in a positive way.”

She said the event will feature new partners and sponsors this year, including Yelm’s Walmart, ABT, Thurston County Emergency Management, YARD with CPR training, and Kinder Swimmer with games and swim lesson information.

“They’ll bring information to the community to get more facts on safety, security and emergency response,” Roy said. “We’d love to see the community come out to see and meet the Yelm Police Department on Aug. 6.”

Following the conclusion of the event, Roy said the City of Yelm will have some time off from hosting events. Residents can expect city-hosted activities and events to return in October, as Roy said “spooky, Halloween events” will be scheduled.