LEWISTON – When this year’s National Night Out in Lewiston gets under way, the C-SPAN School Bus will be part of the gathering.

“We were very excited when this opportunity presented itself,” said Recreation and Parks Director Maggie Chisholm, “and we believe it will be a wonderful educational addition to our National Night Out.”

The 45-foot bus, a traveling TV production studio and media demonstration center, will provide members of the public with firsthand knowledge of the C-SPAN Networks’ 24-hour public affairs programming.

While the bus is on the road, C-SPAN televises on-air updates, short programs from historical sites, and selected public affairs events from local communities along the tour.

This year’s National Night Out will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m Tuesday, Aug. 3, at Marcotte Park.

The celebration will be sponsored by the Lewiston Police Athletic League, the Lewiston Police Department, and the Lewiston Recreation and Parks Department.

Highlights will include free food, pony rides, arts and crafts, face painting, a moonwalk, music, the Lewiston Police Department’s 10-foot Walk-A-Bout police officer named “Officer Pal,” and various raffles.

The Lewiston Police Department will also have a cruiser on site, and the Lewiston Fire Department will have a firetruck at the event.

“National Night Out has proven to be an effective and enjoyable program that promotes neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships,” said Lewiston Police Chief William Welch.

“As neighbors meet neighbors, our community benefits not only for the one evening, but the program provides an opportunity to develop new positive relationships that last all year long,” he said.

National Night Out has historically proven successful in heightening crime and drug prevention awareness, generating support for and participation in local anti-crime efforts, strengthening neighborhood spirit and police-community partnerships, and sending forth a message that neighborhoods are organized and united.

Within the United States, National Night Out has been in existence since 1984 and has grown to involve over 34 million people from more than 10,000 communities representing all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and military bases worldwide.

The national initiative is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, which is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the development and promotion of organized, law enforcement-affiliated crime and drug prevention programs.

Members include neighborhood, crime, community, town and block watch groups; law enforcement agencies; state and regional crime prevention associations; and a variety of businesses, civic groups, and concerned individuals working to make their communities safer places in which to live and work.