The 2013 National Night Out Against Crime is only a week away on Tuesday, August 6. Neighbors all over Beacon Hill and the city are holding block parties as part of this crime-prevention and community-building event. This year’s theme is “Celebrating Crime Free Neighborhoods.”

For this night only, neighbors are allowed to close their street to traffic without paying a fee or applying for a permit — only registration is required. Typical activities at Night Out block parties include potlucks, live music, children’s games and activities, and visits from local elected officials and candidates.

Are you holding a Night Out block party on Beacon Hill? Let us know in the comments and we’ll set up a list.

The Seattle Police Department has provided some information about setting up a block party:

• Once you get to the Night Out registration page, you’ll see an icon that says Register Your Event. Click on that link to register your Night Out event. Once you have registered your event, you will get email verification. You can go back in and edit and/or cancel your event later if you need to.
• You can choose to add your event to a map as well. Registering your event won’t automatically put your event on the map. This is a separate step from registering your event and is completely voluntary, though it is on the same web page. Below Register Your Event, you’ll see the icon that says Add To The Map. Enter your event information here if you want your event to show up on the citywide public calendar. It can take approximately 48 hours to populate the map.
• The Night Out invitations available on our website are in pdf and are editable and printable from there.
• If you opt to close your street, please remember that arterials and intersections cannot be closed or blocked. Also, you cannot block off access to your street with something that could not be easily moved in the event that your neighbors or an emergency vehicle need to access your street. You cannot use a vehicle to block off the street. A chair or table with a sign taped to it saying “Street Closed” is good enough.
• We have many requests for Police Officers and Firefighters to visit Night Out events. Officers and Firefighters will make every attempt to get to as many events as they can, but with over 1300 events citywide, be mindful that you may not get a visit.