Police Invite Participation in National Night Out Events on August 5

Published on June 25, 2025

Palo Alto, CA – The Palo Alto Police Department is inviting the Palo Alto community to participate in National Night Out events on Tuesday, August 5.  The Department is hosting an event at a neighborhood park that evening, and the City has grant funding available to help residents and neighborhood associations organize their own block parties.

National Night Out is a nationwide event designed to promote police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make our neighborhoods safer, more caring places to live.  Occurring on the first Tuesday of August annually, millions of neighbors take part in National Night Out events across thousands of communities in all 50 states, U.S. territories, and military bases worldwide.  The City of Palo Alto is proud to be one of these communities.

There are two ways to participate this year in Palo Alto:

• The public is invited to attend the event sponsored by the Palo Alto Police Department on August 5 between 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. at Bol Park at 3590 Laguna Avenue.  There will be games, emergency vehicles on display (including police cars and potentially vehicles from the Palo Alto Fire Department and the Office of Emergency Services, as well as animal control and park ranger trucks) and police personnel with whom you can chat.
  
  
• Residents and businesses can host their own events on the evening of August 5.  Neighborhood events in the past have ranged from small potlucks between neighbors to large block parties.  If residents and businesses register their National Night Out-themed event with us, we will make every attempt to have Police Department personnel visit your gathering.  Note that block parties with road closures require a free permit issued in advance by the Police Department.
  
  These National Night Out block parties would qualify for the City’s Know Your Neighbors Grant Program, with grants up to $700 for residents or up to $1200 for neighborhood associations that want to organize a gathering involving the building of connections between neighbors.  The deadline to apply for one of these grants for National Night Out is Tuesday, July 22.  For more information, and to apply online, visit our website here.

For more information, or to start the registration process for your own National Night Out-themed event for August 5, visit our National Night Out webpage.  If you have questions, please send an email to pd@paloalto.gov and a member of the Police Department's National Night Out team will respond to you during business hours, usually within two business days.