Waukesha Night Out is Tuesday

Tuesday night will be a busy one at Frame Park, where there will be police cars, fire trucks,  live DJ music, karate demonstrations and even a special appearance from Bango the Buck.

Waukesha Night Out, the annual event that promotes community policing and safety, is being held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday. The event is held “to show support for community crime prevention,” said Sgt. John Konkol of the Waukesha Police Department.

“It expands the partnership with the law enforcement and all the other agencies that are involved in the community,” Konkol said. “These are good people coming out to experience all these things.”

The free event has many major sponsors and supporters, including GE volunteers, We Energies, Waukesha Parks, Recreation & Forestry, Roundy’s Corporation, Pick n’ Save, Golden Guernsey Dairy, Target, La Estacion,  Waukesha Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association, the Waukesha Fire and Police Departments and Waukesha State Bank.

“The city’s not paying for this,” explained Konkol. “It is all funded by donations.”

The event will have free games with prizes for children. Other attractions include meeting the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Waukesha County Sheriff’s Department’s K-9 Unit and martial art demonstrations. Members of the Waukesha Common Council and Mayor Jeff Scrima also are expected to be in attendance. The Milwaukee Admirals will be giving demonstrations, Konkol said, and while the Racing Sausages are at the Milwaukee Brewers game that night, Bango the Buck will be there as well.

The fun night has free refreshments, including corn and hot dogs.

“I hope the corn is big enough to be picking,” said Konkol with a laugh.

Bike helmets from ProHealth Care will be for sale for $10.

“They are going to be professionally fitted,” Konkol said.

About 2,500 people have attended the event each year during the past several years, Konkol estimated. The crime prevention event has been at Frame Park for about 15 years, but officers previously would visit neighborhoods and block parties to encourage community safety.

“We couldn’t really reach out to everybody,” Konkol said, which is why the event is now at Frame Park.

So what does Konkol like about the event?

“All the people that are smiling and happy,” he said. “It is a really great atmosphere. … It makes it worth it. There is a lot of volunteer work that goes into this.”