ROCK FALLS, Ill. — For the last 40 years, police departments across the country have held National Night Out. It's all meant for officers and the community to get to know each other. But on Tuesday, Aug. 6, Rock Falls celebrated for the first time.
Hundreds enjoyed music, vendors and free hotdogs grilled up by the Rock Falls Police Department at RB&W Park, while getting to know first responders like Police Chief David Pilgrim.
"Getting people to come in here and have interactions with police officers and other first responders away from a crisis-type situation," Pilgrim said. "Just to get to know us as people, and for us to interact with our community, see faces that we’ve never seen before, and just let them know that we’re part of that community."
Pilgrim said it was hard work bringing the 30 first responder departments, service providers, nonprofits and local businesses to the riverfront. But since he was promoted to chief three years ago, it's been a goal of his to bring National Night Out to Rock Falls.
"And it just so happened that the city of Sterling across the river wasn’t going to have an event, so I took that opportunity as as my sign to now it’s time to do one," Pilgrim said. "I don’t want to have a competing event with them."
Rock Falls natives like Emma Watts, a senior at Augustana College, said the National Night Out is one of the many ways the city has grown.
"It’s really cool seeing them create new opportunities for the city to come out and just have a blast, have a good time, listen to music, engage in their community," Watts said.
She watched as the city redeveloped the riverfront and started holding events.
"They just keep getting bigger and bigger with more and more people attending, and it's a really cool thing to see," Watts said.
Next year, Pilgrim hopes Rock Falls and Sterling can start switching off National Night Out duty to lighten the load of planning.
"My biggest concern, we're gonna run out of hotdogs," Pilgrim said.
An hour and a half into the event, all 500 hotdogs were given away.