People from all over Texarkana gathered at Kings Park in Wake Village on Oct.1 for National Night Out. National Night Out is an annual event where the community comes together to celebrate the partnership between law enforcement and the community. 

National Night Out first came to Wake Village 11 years ago. Many local businesses, like Wake Village Shaved Ice, have come to the event to support the community and gain business.

 “[Wake Village shaved ice] has been coming for several years, and we plan to come back next year and even the next,” Mary Dotson said.

For some, National Night Out has become a tradition of sorts, and they look forward tot he entertainment the event offers.

“I’ve been coming since I was little,” Reggie Walter said. ”I like how this is a family oriented event and its all for the kids.”

A couple dance studios came to perform for the community. Instructor of the dance studio D2I, Davida High even join in performing with her kids.

“We’ve been coming to national night out for four years,” High said. “We love performing for everyone and this event can help us gain new members.”

For D2I, this was their first performance of the season. They had dancers of all ages on the stage, every dance was energetic and fun filled. 

“Performing is my favorite part of the night,” sophomore Nyla Tucker said. “While I was standing on the side of the stage I would look out and see how happy everyone in the crowd looked.”

National night out is aimed towards the community coming together and not being afraid of helping law enforcement. 

“[My favorite part] about tonight was seeing the community get together, there’s people all over Wake Village and [Texarkana],” Detective Todd Aultman said. “Everybody gets together and just have fun.”