Catasauqua Borough held a National Night Out celebration Aug. 4 at the borough municipal complex, 90 Bridge St.

Catasauqua Mayor Anthony Alcalde said he was delighted with the turnout.

National Night Out Against Crime is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch. NNO was introduced in August 1984. A goal of NNO is to foster an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and camaraderie.

Members of the borough police department, volunteer fire department, Northampton Regional EMS and Lehigh County Sheriff’s Office were present to provide support at the event. They engaged attendees and had fun mingling with each other.

There were police cars, firetrucks and an ambulance for all to explore. North Catasauqua’s fire Chief Roger Scheirer and Capt. Sam Safadi and Catasauqua’s Assistant Chief Dillon Hartranft and their team of firefighters provided safety information and gave tours of the fire equipment. Catasauqua firefighter Jack Brubaker proudly showed his helmet to those present.

Catasauqua police Officers Joseph Ferkh, Mia Gallagher and Steven Parr were offering attendees a close-up look into modern police cars. Lehigh County Deputy Sheriff Richard Garner and NREMS members Noah Rodberg, Nikola Jasinska and Mark Lehman all provided safety literature to those present.

There were kids games; assorted vendors like Diane Czar, of Whitehall, offering temporary tattoos; indoor plants by Get It From Granny, operated by Kawaunna Waldron, of Catasauqua; a coloring table for kids by Holy Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church’s pastor, Brian Riedy, with Lester Ettl, of Catasauqua, and Shelly Burns, of Scranton; and gifts for kids from Kim McCurdy and Aelly Theophille, of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church.

Pizza was served by Michelle Lederer, of Lehigh Township. Other refreshments were available, including ice cream from the Cool Cat Ice Cream truck, of Whitehall.

The two-hour event seemed to fly by as there were plenty of things to view and engage with, all enveloped by quality pop and rock music by JDT-One Entertainment’s deejay John Treby.

Councilman Robert Zakos said he enjoyed the camaraderie and friendship at the event. He has a long history of volunteering with community organizations to make Catasauqua better.

Alcalde said he and his wife, Maryellen, are planning to develop a community town watch. Maryellen Alcalde staffed a table she set up to provide the benefits of an active town watch and how to join the effort. Email mayor@catasauqua.org for more information or how to join the town watch.

By all accounts, the Catasauqua NNO was up-tempo, in a comfortable setting, provided important safety information and was a lot of fun for those of all ages. It was a community strengthening safety promotion experience designed to also increase volunteerism in Catasauqua.