Suna Shaw, Organizer of the Annual Event,  with David Singer, Communications Director for the Portland Police Department.  Shaw is

Ian Bannon, Executive Director, of Mayo Street Arts, was One of the Vendors Today.

Police Department Chief Frank Clark Plays with one of the Attendees at the Event This Afternoon.  The Chief Said he Used to Play Basketball when he was in High School, But Not Much Since Then.

About 200 children came out this afternoon for the Tenth Annual Night Out held at the Fox Street Basketball Courts in East Bayside.  It was a busy place as children enjoyed all manner of activity from music, food, and games.  But one of the most popular activities came at the basketball hoops where the action was nonstop.

Suna Shaw, organizer of the event and with the East Bayside Community Policing Office at Bayside Anchor, said that the event has grown significantly over the years.  Originally it was held at Peppermint Park on Cumberland Avenue.  But it grew so, that in 2016 it had to be moved to the Basketball Courts on Fox Street.

This is the first year that the event was  held during the daytime. It ran from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. That happened mostly because of the pandemic. The downside of that was that parents and other family members were not present because many of them were working or otherwise occupied.  In the future she may change those hours to allow more family members to attend. It’s held the first Tuesday of August.

Seventy percent of the residents in the area are refugees said Shaw.

One of the vendors at the event was Mayo Street Arts. represented by  Ian Bannon, executive director.  The popular theater has been closed since March of 2020 because of the pandemic.  The theater, that formerly housed A Company of Girls, is trying to maintain visibility during this time when that is hard to maintain.

“When folks hear about this event, they want to contribute in some way.  They ask us how can we help?” said Shaw. Please contact the Community Policing Office if you would like to contribute to next year’s event.

The event was sponsored by the Portland Police Department, Portland Youth, The Opportunity Alliance, the Boys & Girls Clubs among others.