Brookline's largest police-community event returns for a fifth year Tuesday evening, with the department opening the doors at Lynch Recreation Center for free food, K-9 demonstrations and activities aimed at connecting officers with the families they serve.

National Night Out runs from 5 to 8 p.m. at 599 Brookline Ave. The Brookline Police Department announced the lineup on X, listing a bounce house, bike rodeo, obstacle courses, a police K-9 demo, touch-a-truck, ice cream, carnival games and live entertainment.

More than a dozen local organizations will join BPD at the event, sharing public safety resources and meeting residents face to face, as the department outlined when it announced the gathering in July.

The event is free and open to all Brookline families.

The Aug. 4 gathering marks Brookline's fifth consecutive National Night Out, a streak that began in 2022 when both the police and fire departments promoted the inaugural event. BPD has called it the department's largest community event of the year, according to Patch.

National Night Out dates to 1984, when the National Association of Town Watch launched the program to strengthen police-community relationships and promote crime prevention. The campaign now spans thousands of communities nationwide and falls on the first Tuesday in August each year.

Chief Jennifer Paster leads a department that has emphasized community trust as a core priority. Under her leadership, BPD committed in early 2024 to the 30x30 initiative, which aims to bring female officers to 30% of the force by 2030.

The format mirrors past years: K-9 officers demonstrate their dogs' capabilities outdoors, children rotate through bounce houses and obstacle courses, and the touch-a-truck station lets kids climb into police vehicles and fire apparatus. Bring the whole family.

Residents with questions can contact BPD at [email protected] or (617) 730-2222.