Homewood first responders host annual National Night Out

The Homewood police and fire departments hosted the city's annual National Night Out event on the evening of Tuesday, August 1, and attracted a big crowd -- including many families -- to the parking lot of Shades Valley Community Church on Oxmoor Road.

The attendees -- the crowd seemed to average about 250 to 300 -- enjoyed a pleasant summer evening, chatted with police and other first responders and checked out fire trucks and other vehicles.

They also heard live music and could purchase fresh produce, check out numerous other vendors or sample a wide variety of food -- everything from tacos and wood-fired pizza to cookies, ice cream and donuts.

The organizers of National Night Out again partnered with the West Homewood Farrner's Market, meaning that several vendors of fresh produce were on hand, as ell.

Friends Kimberly DeLoach and Ali Allen attended the event with their husbands and a total of five kids – including DeLoach’s 8-month-old daughter, Chloe.

“The kids are excited for the police car and the fire trucks and the pizza that’s probably coming soon,” DeLoach said.

Yakima Marks, who recently moved to Birmingham from Nashville, attended the event with her little boy, Caleb Benjamin Green.

“We saw the activities and the signs, and it looked like a family-friendly event, and it looked like Caleb could have a lot of activities,” Marks said.

“I like going to see the police officers,” Benjamin said.

Part of an annual campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make towns and cities safer, National Night Out events are held in thousands of communities in the United States and Canada on the first Tuesday in August.