Oakdale has been an award-winning community when it has come to National Night Out celebrations in recent years and it’s likely 2023 will bring much of the same recognition.

City residents turned out for a number of gatherings on Tuesday, Aug. 1 as they helped to mark the 40th anniversary for the nationwide National Night Out.

Designed originally as a way to ‘take back the night’ from crime and drugs, the goal of NNO is to get neighbors out of their homes, interacting with their neighbors and first responders, getting an opportunity to visit with police, fire and ambulance personnel in a relaxed setting.

City officials also are part of the entourage, so it’s an opportunity to not only enjoy some food, informational booths and more, but also to speak informally and ask questions about a variety of city issues and/or concerns.

This year, the largest event was hosted at Burchell Park in the Burchell Hill neighborhood, with an opening ceremony staged there at 5:45 p.m., featuring remarks by Mayor Cher Bairos and other city representatives.

The local Lions Club was on hand at the park to grill up hot dogs and hamburgers to feed the crowd and there were also informational booths, games, bounce houses, face painting, tours of the emergency vehicles and more.

While the largest, centralized event was in Burchell, there were several other neighborhood gatherings and officials did their best to make an appearance at each.

There were events staged at Golden Empire Apartments on Ponderosa Drive; Tesoro at 2265 Via Cavalow; the School and Olive area; California and Laurel area; Belmare Senior Living on West F Street; and Oak Leaf Meadows Apartments, on Pedersen.

All the gatherings were scheduled from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and the weather cooperated, with no triple digits keeping the crowd from turning out. Communities all across Stanislaus County staged National Night Out events, joining in with thousands of cities throughout the country.