National Night Out event in Mills Park

Today, neighborhoods throughout Carson City are invited to join forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the 21st annual National Night Out crime and drug prevention event.

The Carson City Sheriff's Department will celebrate the event at Mills Park from noon until about 9 p.m.

There will be presentations from many of the public safety agencies serving the greater Carson City area, including the Nevada Highway Patrol, Nevada Department of Public Safety, Care Flight, Nevada Air National Guard, Nevada Army National Guard, B.M., Carson City Fire Department, and contingents of the U.S. Marines, Air Force, Navy and the Army, with a special visit from the Search and Rescue Unit of the Fallon Naval Air Station.

There will be giveaways and a barbecue with free hot dogs from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and from 4:30 to 6 p.m. Deputies will assist residents in establishing Neighborhood Watches.

National Night Out, which is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, involves more than 10,000 communities from all 50 states, Canadian cities and military bases around the world.

More than 34 million people are expected to participate in this year's "America's Night Out Against Crime." The event is being supported in part by the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Nevada Office of Criminal Justice Assistance.

To show their support, residents are asked to lock their doors, turn on their porch lights, and spend time outside with their neighbors or at Mills Park.