NATIONAL NIGHT OUT
Lodi neighbors come together, host block parties as national event returns for first time since 2019
Communities coming together has always been the main theme of National Night Out, but Tuesday’s event meant much more to Lodi residents, given they have spent the last 17 months nearly isolated from loved ones.
“The whole point is to reach out to the community,” Ann Gerow said. “Everybody is so tired of having been indoors all this time. It feels so refreshing to be able to get out. We just enjoy it any time we do these things. More people come each year.”
Gerow was one of the many members of Vintage Church on Turner Road to attend the National Night Out party organized by Pastor Timothy Stewart and his wife Tara.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the church, formerly known as Lodi Community Church, had hosted a neighborhood get-together eight times.
The church’s event was expected to be one of the more well-attended of the evening, as the Stewarts passed flyers around the surrounding neighborhood, invited Lodians through the Vintage Church Facebook page, and placed a welcome sign on Turner Road.
Noona Joseph was one resident who happened to see the sign and stopped to see what was going on.
“It looked inviting,” she said. “I’ve never attended one of these, but anything that benefits the community is a good thing, especially with the
COVID lift. This is something people need.”
Like many other party hosts, as well as the Lodi Police Department, the Stewarts weren’t sure they’d be able to put something together on such short notice.
The department announced the event would be happening for the first time since 2019 only a week ago.
“We had just done our ‘Flags and Flapjacks,’ so we’re just trying to have a presence in the community,” Timothy Stewart said. “We want to love our neighbors and support the police.”
The church rented a bounce house for children, served up barbecue hot dogs, and gave away $25 Starbucks gift cards to winners of a raffle and a watermelon eating contest.
Youngsters could also have their faces painted by Stewart’s daughters Amara and Kayla.
“The main reason (for the event) is just to be in the community,” Timothy Stewart said. “As we’re replanting the church, we just want to let people know we’re here, because for the longest time, people thought the church was closed.”
Steweart “replanted” the church last year to give the decades-old congregation new life, choosing the name Vintage to honor Lodi’s history as “Zinfandel Capital of the World.”
At Hale Park, Lodi Police Sgt. Matt Latino and several officers were on site hosting their own event as a way to reach out to a part of the community that historically has not engaged in National Night Out.
“This year we realized we didn’t have a great turnout on our east side — specifically in the Heritage and Central districts,” Latino said. “We’re still at the stages where we’re trying to figure out why that is. We figured it would be in the best interest to organize something where people come to us, make ourselves more accessible.”
The department had refreshments including soda, water and popsicles for residents, as well as toys and games for children.
Some of the officers kicked a soccer ball and threw a football around with neighborhood residents as well.
Although Latino and his team had only just set up their canopy at the park at about 5:30 p.m., he said as many as 15 neighbors had already stopped by.
Latino was hoping more would attend by the time the event ended at 8 p.m.
“We’re just trying to make it an environment that people can reach out, find us, and realize they can come to us and talk to us,” he said.
There are typically close to 100 National Night Out parties in Lodi each year, which has participated in the annual event since 1985.
There were 80 parties in 2019, but only about 33 this year. Latino said it seemed many residents were still hesitant to hold large get-togethers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.