Tuesday, August 1, marks the 40th annual Nite 2 Unite event and the 20th anniversary in Crookston. This event is meant for neighborhoods and law enforcement to come together one night a year, where people can learn who their local officers are. The event also includes officers and first responders showing their equipment and vehicles to the public so citizens understand the field more.
Over 40 million people in 15,000 communities across the country take part in Nite 2 Unite. “The goal for us as law enforcement or first responders is to approach and show our citizens that we are citizens just like you are, and we want you to know us as your neighbor, and we’re also here to protect you,” said Crookston Police Officer Don Rasicot, Coordinator of Nite 2 Unite.
NITE 2 UNITE FESTIVITIES
This year’s Nite 2 Unite will occur at the University of Minnesota Crookston in the center promenade area. The event will kick off with the 10th annual Walt Keller Memorial Bingo party, with all proceeds going toward the Walt Keller Memorial. This event will start at 2:30 p.m.
“The proper festivities will start at 4:30 p.m., that’s where Kitty Barstad and her daughter will sing the national anthem,” said Rasicot. “After that, we kick off the festivities, and it is solid action right up until the end, which will be at around 7:45 p.m.” The border patrol air interdiction unit helicopter will make another appearance where the community can see and take pictures. The event includes various demonstrations like K-9 Jax doing his bite training, the fire department will be presenting a kitchen flash demonstration, and Master Rick from the Taekwondo school in Crookston giving demonstrations.
Rasicot explains more events to take place. “We’re going to have a dunk tank and the watermelon eating contest, which happens to be pretty popular,” said Rasicot. “And to my understanding, the Crookston Classic Cruisers are going to make an appearance so we’ll have fancy cars to look at, and don’t forget all of the law enforcement cars coming in.” Nite 2 Unite is scheduled to have 8-10 law enforcement agencies from around the region that will be at the event.
Rasicot also mentioned keeping an eye out for great food vendors and trucks. One of the most popular vendors in recent years has been the Knights of Columbus serving their famous fried walleye. “This has turned into the largest single-day event in Crookston,” said Rasicot. “We get 2,500 to 3,000 people per year, and the cool thing about our event being so large is we get people from Grand Forks and communities to come and celebrate their Nite 2 Unite with us, just because of the event we have.”
The Nite 2 Unite committee stated the community should expect a great festivities night. “The Nite 2 Unite committee starts planning this out months in advance,” said Rasicot.” My committee members are made up of community leaders who volunteer their time away from their job and families to put this together. And you will see my committee members on the day of the event. The public can expect a fun, action-packed day on Tuesday, August 1, and I can guarantee we will not disappoint.”
Among all the events to take place, thousands of dollars worth of prizes will be given away during the event; local businesses have donated all these prizes. These prizes include electronics, toys, bicycle packages, and seven Mall of America Family Fun packages worth nearly $400 per package.
For transportation, the Tri-valley Bus company donated the driving service on the day of the event. They will arrive at the Golden Link Senior Center, the Villa, and Summit for pick up.
Once again, Nite 2 Unite will occur on Tuesday, August 1, starting at 4:30 p.m. and ending at 7:45 p.m.
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