One block party is enough to get excited about, but when a community has eight of them at once, that's quite an undertaking. That's what happened Tuesday, Aug. 3 when 450 people came out for the third annual National Night Out in the Sully Station II community.
"To have eight different events in a community is phenomenal. It's hard enough to get one coordinated usually," said Sully District police officer Dwayne Machosky as he enjoyed the Wood Creek Lane block party whose theme was "All American."
Eight different blocks organized themed block parties from 6:30 to 10 p.m. The themes ranged from "Best Potluck Cook Out" to a "'70s" theme, and all involved great food and fun.
The parties were held to show support for the Neighborhood Watch program and the area police.
"We [wanted] to show our support to the police departments. It's really amazing to see all these block parties answer the call," said Dan Jenuleson, who runs the Sully II Neighborhood Watch with his wife Leslie.
Four judges determined the best block party, which was a tie between Flagler Drive with a "Jimmy Buffett" theme and Linden Creek with an "America's Favorite Pastime — Baseball" theme.
"We couldn't place one above the other so we had to give them a tie," said Dan Jenuleson. "They both put a lot of effort into organizing it."
"We were first place last year," said Flagler Drive resident Mary Ann Bonner.
Other themes included an "Olympic" theme for Kamputa Drive. "We had a long jump, shot put (with water balloons), javelin throw (with a water noodle), soccer and basketball," said Kathy McCormick, a Kamputa Drive block party organizer.
Another block party, Wood Creek Lane, had a moon bounce, an inflatable swimming pool and a popcorn popper to go along with its "All American" theme.
"We're a very close-knit neighborhood so we [get together] all the time," said Bonner as she watched a child play the guitar at the Flagler Drive block party.
The activities at the Sully Station II community center included free ice cream, a poster contest, a flag ceremony to retire the old Sully Station II flag, a fire truck from Station 438 and Eddie the Eagle who promoted gun safety for the NRA. The community center also had a drug awareness area set up by the police and a poster contest for children under 18.