Mountlake Terrace defies wildfire smoke to hold City Night Out event

Smokey the Bear at Mountlake Terrace
(look at the baby!)

Story & Photos by David Carlos

Many cities postponed their National Night Out celebrations Tuesday because of poor air quality caused by wildfires in Eastern Washington.

I expected Mountlake Terrace to follow suit. Throughout the afternoon, I checked the City of Mountlake Terrace Facebook page every few minutes, anticipating a postponement notice. It never appeared. Instead, the city moved forward with the event as planned.

Why did the city proceed?

Watching performers with rapt attention

Andrew Applewick, the City of Mountlake Terrace events coordinator, said, 

"We had an investment. The community looks forward to this, and that's really what it comes down to. We're not going to require anybody to come out. We're going to make sure that they make the right choices, but some families may count on this as their meal. And it's a big thing. So, if you need to count on us, we want to make sure we do it right.”

Evergreen Playfield was packed with attendees

The event ran from 6 to 8:30pm, and Evergreen Playfield was packed. The crowd appeared even larger than in previous years.

Some attendees were loyal return visitors. I asked one attendee, Jackie, what brought her out despite the smoky conditions.

She said, “Just to see the people. I missed one year, but I try to get out here every year, yeah.”

L-R Mayor Steve Woodard, Councilmember William Paige, Jr., Deputy Mayor Carolyn Hope, Councilmembers Kyoko Matsumoto Wright, and Bryan Wahl.

Mayor Steve Woodard thanked the crowd for attending.

“Thank you all for being out here tonight in particular because a lot of cities decided they couldn't do this tonight. But we said no, we are positive that our residents would be very angry with us if we didn't. And as I understand it, you were all here at 5:45 pm as opposed to 6 o'clock. So, we really appreciate you all.”

I asked another crew member (not pictured) how many hot dogs they've made so far.
He said, "About 500. And about 500 to go. So 1000 total. Minus the one that we dropped."

Visitors were treated to free hot dogs, chips and drinks. More than 30 informational booths showcased organizations, programs, and services available to the community.

The evening also included music from a DJ, balloon art, face painting, a photo booth, public safety vehicles, a drone demonstration, cornhole with police officers, and performances by the Mountlake Terrace Dance Academy.

Question:  Did you do this as a hobby first?
Officer Russell's Answer:  "Oh, yeah, like I bought a drone because I wanted to survey my land, and then my sergeant found out I like to fly, so he asked me if I was interested."
Here, he's flying a DJI M30 drone, one of a number in the department.

Officer Russell putting on FPV (first-person view) drone goggles. You see what the drone sees.

National Night Out combines family-friendly entertainment with activities designed to strengthen relationships between residents and local public safety agencies.