Thousands Attend Concord's National Night Out; Cops Thank Businesses That Helped Out With Donations

CONCORD, NH — Another National Night Out is in the books, and police and community members deemed the event in Concord a success.

Thousands of people were at Rollins Park this year for the event, which featured several new displays and programming, and a return of the National Guard helicopter, which is always a crowd favorite.

Officer Carl Notarangeli Jr., who has organized the event for five years, was happy with the turnout. He said several private organizations, too, stepped up with donations, which allowed food and drinks to be served for free this year. Normally, the event costs the city thousands of dollars to put together and break even.

“We had a lot of donations this year,” he said. “Walmart stepped up, Associated Grocers stepped up, the Bean & Bakery provided coffee, Target stepped up… It’s huge.”

The Salvation Army, too, manned the hot dog stand, and Raising Cane’s, which just opened in Concord on Loudon Road, was also at the event.

Interim Police Chief Barrett Moulton also heralded the businesses that helped offset the cost of the event.

Many volunteers also donated their time to provide attractions that sometimes cost the city money.

“They were a big help this year,” Moulton said.

Some of the features previously included in the event were not in attendance this year due to escalating costs. New additions included K-9 demonstrations, with the help of officers from Epping and Milton, which were added this year and were popular with attendees.

Another interactive display was kids wearing goggles, attempting to replicate intoxication, while driving an ATV around an obstacle course. A liquor commission employee was riding along for safety. Many kids tried to overcorrect, plowing into the cones, and appeared to get the point of the exercise.

As noted on the back of the liquor commission truck, “Make Good Choices.”

The national event, which had more than 40 locations in New Hampshire this year, was an opportunity for the public to get to know the police department and others in the community, learn about equipment, and see how everyone operates, Moulton said.

“We try to get as many officers as we can to the event, from our youngest to our oldest,” he said. “We try to get officers from each division… It’s team-building (for officers)… and it gives the community the chance to interact with police and understand the job that they do.”

Moulton noted most residents’ experience with police is often the worst or most difficult time of their lives. When police go to calls, whether it is to take a victim’s report or arrest a suspect, it is a stressful time. People are often upset or overwhelmed, he said.

“They aren’t calling us there to have fun,” Moulton said.

National Night Out and city parades, too, showed the officers how much they are appreciated, he said, including being able to meet with citizens, talk about the job, and understand the career. Moulton added, while at the police table on Tuesday afternoon, residents offered a lot of “thank yous” and compliments about work the officers had done helping residents with cases and incidents.

“That helps build the support in this field that can sometimes be difficult,” he said. “This is meaningful… the response from the community. It’s been a good event.”

Notarangeli said several vendors were turned away this year due to a lack of space or late sign-ups. Several city councilors, including Jennifer Kretovic from Ward 3, Jim Schlosser from Ward 7, and Jeff Foote from Ward 10, were seen at the event.

For 2027, Moulton and Notarangeli said there would be some changes to improve the event even more, including more activities and programming for kids, filling the entire park. It should be, they said, bigger and better than ever before.

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