Eldersburg Outgrows Carrolltown Mall With Annual National Night Out

It was good news at the National Night Out event in Eldersburg Tuesday evening.

It didn’t rain, it was the biggest event in three years and there was a large crowd in attendance.

There was one bit of news that some would view as bad news, but the Freedom Area Citizens’ Council, a sponsor of the event along with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department saw it as good news.

Next year’s National Night Out will not be held at the Carrolltown Mall. The event has outgrown the back parking lot and will have to move in its fourth year. 

"We have grown too big for here," said Ellen Dix, president of the Freedom Area Citizen's Council. "We hope that the people that have come will look through their program book and will support the businesses that have sponsored us and gave us donations, because without their help we wouldn’t be able to have this again." 

Maj. Phil Kasten, of the Sheriff's Department believes that the event can make a difference in community safety and preparedness. 

"National Night Out is an opportunity for us to get together with the community and help them learn about the resources that are available to them from their law enforcement agency as well as seeing how public safety agencies, government and local community groups work together to provide services to maintain our quality of life that we have all become accustomed to in Carroll County," said Kasten. 

There were more than 50 exhibits this year that ranged from free massages to free pens from groups like The Ugly Mug along with face painting, temporary tattoos, nail painting, children's games and antique cars. Also on hand were the Sykesville and Gamber fire departments, Carroll County Humane Society, Maryland State Police and Sheriff’s Department.

Entertaining the crowd was flash mob of Camp Rock and The Joey D Cares Rock Orchestra. Joey Dundore, a music teacher at Piney Ridge Elementary School leads the band.

The Night Out gathers citizens, law enforcement agencies, civic groups, businesses and neighborhood organizations in a campaign against crime and drugs. This is the 28th year of National Night Out and the third year for Eldersburg. Other communities in Carroll also gather on the first Tuesday of August.

The National Night Out event is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch and involves neighborhood organizations and local officials from over 15,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases worldwide.

"This is a big event not just for FACC, but it’s a big event for Eldersburg," said Dix. "It really is the only thing that’s Eldersburg. We have a carnival, but it’s called Sykesville. But this is an Eldersburg event.

"The FACC’s goal besides highlighting crime and partnering with the sheriff’s department is the fact that we want to bring all the developments and communities that are in Eldersburg out together, because we live in Eldersburg," said Dix.

Family memberships to FACC cost $15. Business memberships cost $20. The group meets monthly to tackle issues in the Eldersburg community.

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