DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - The Decatur Police Department's 2026 National Night Out celebration is set to return next month.Â
The event will take place at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 4, at Dansby Park, formerly Oak Grove Park.
National Night Out is free and will feature food, games, activities, community resources and public safety demonstrations.
DPD will also recognize the winner of the t-shirt design contest, new to this year's festivities.
T-shirt design contest and how to enter
This year, Decatur police will partner with the Heart of Illinois Community Foundation to launch the 2026 National Night Out t-shirt design contest.
Artists 18 and younger are invited to create a design that reflects this year's theme, "Stronger, Safer Together."
Artwork can be hand-drawn, painted, colored, digitally designed, or created using AI tools.
Judges will pick a winner based on connection to the "Stronger, Safer Together" theme, creativity, originality and visual appeal.
The winning design will be featured on the official 2026 National Night Out t-shirt, which will be given out for free to event attendees in August.
Designs can be submitted by emailing decaturnno@decaturil.gov or by dropping off artwork at the Decatur Police Department.
The submission deadline is Friday, July 10.
What is National Night Out?
National Night Out (NNO) is an annual community-building campaign promoting positive relationships between communities and police departments, according to the organization's website.
NNO was introduced in 1984, with the first annual event involving 2.5 million people across 400 communities in 23 states.
Now, 167 communities in Illinois alone participate in the event, according to the NNO website.
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