VIDEO: National Night Out Lures Governor and New Police Chief

Tuesday night’s National Night Out event in Shady Side brought out VIPs including Gov. Martin O’Malley (D), newly sworn-in Anne Arundel County Police Chief Larry Tolliver, Southern District Police Capt. Joe Jordan, Anne Arundel County Sheriff Ron Bateman and hundreds and hundreds of good people from the community.

The National Night Out is a nationwide event that celebrates the partnership between communities and police. It was started nearly three decades ago to celebrate the work of orange hat brigades in neighborhoods being reclaimed by citizens after crime got out of hand.

More after the video:

In Shady Side, unofficial mayor Mohan Grover, owner of Rennos Market on Shady Side Road, said that he spends about two months planning—collecting commitments to cook or donate food or other funding.

On the night of the Night Out, a small army of volunteers comes out to cook dinner for the town. One of the cooks, John Brown, spent the day roasting a pig at his house. On Tuesday night, about 600 to 800 people showed up and waiting in line up to an hour to get a plate of hot, home-cooked, delicious  (free) barbecue.

Then they took their plates and ate as they listened to music under the pavilion, or sat on the grass watching the VIPs pose for photos. People registered to vote and learned about Pampered Chef and candidates for U.S. Senate.

Next year will mark two decades that the Shady Side event will take place.

I’ll see you there.