FAIRMONT — Founded in 1984, National Night Out offers an opportunity for communities to promote fellowship and safety.

Fairmont’s National Night Out is scheduled for Aug. 7. Fairmont Police Chief Mike Hunter shared the details.

“It’s from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Gomsrud Park,” he said. “Not only do we protect and serve, but we’ll even serve you dinner that night. It’s going to be hot dogs and chips.”

Hunter is looking forward to the chance to meet and mingle with the community at large.

“We’re just looking for that informal opportunity to be available, have some positive interaction, and make ourselves available to talk to people. If people have questions we’ll be there for them.”

He noted that there will be plenty of law enforcement and other emergency workers available for people to talk to, along with several vehicles for kids and families to look over.

“We’re going to have the fire department there with at least one, if not two, of their trucks and some of their personnel as well,” he said. “We’ll have Gold Cross Ambulance, we’ll have our squad cars, and our regional SWAT Team will have its MRAP vehicle.

“That was the vehicle that was used up in Slayton, Minnesota, in Murray County to evacuate people during the floods they had up there. So it will give the kids an opportunity to crawl all over that and let them see that. We’re just looking to have a nice relaxing informal night.”

The night not only gives people the chance to get a feel for their local police, but also provides an increasingly unique chance to socialize with their neighbors away from social media.

Hunter shared that his favorite part is just being able to take the time to talk with people on an individual basis.

“It’s our way of saying thank you to the community for all the support over the years,” he said. “I always enjoyed it when we did that back in the early 2000s and it started to become a big production. But I still think the best time spent was those one on one conversations, just being able to answer questions, being available and for us to thank people for their support.”