The City of Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Police Department, Fire Department and other City Departments along with UC Santa Cruz are encouraging the residents of Santa Cruz to participate in the Santa Cruz Neighbors' Night Out, which this year will be held on Sunday 29 September from noon to 8p. Santa Cruz Neighbors' Night Out is by invitation only from the local block party sponsors of this citywide event.

The event seeks to unite neighbors one block at a time, by creating an opportunity for all neighbors to participate in a block party, barbecue, ice cream social, potluck or other public event. One of the goals of Santa Cruz Neighbors Night Out is to reduce the potential for misunderstandings or conflicts by promoting familiarity and open communication among neighbors. These activities will give neighbors an opportunity to introduce themselves, exchange phone numbers and emails for neighborhood watch lists or future neighborhood events and communication.

The event is timed to enable neighborhoods to include new or returning UC Santa Cruz students in the festivities. The first Santa Cruz Neighbors Night Out event in 2009 had 31 neighborhood block parties participating. Last year close to 50 neighborhoods participated. It would be fun to see 100 neighborhoods participating in the future!

Early registrants will be able to request visits from the Police and Fire Department staff, Self defense demo, UCSC Chancellor, Vice Chancellors and Student Interns, or select from a list that will be distributed upon receipt of the RSVP.

Please visit our website for more information http://www.santacruzneighbors.com/

Santa Cruz Neighbors is a citywide non-profit that helps a network of neighborhoods to partner with local government, educational institutions, and local businesses, dedicated to a community oriented government and provides a neighborhood voice for the residents of Santa Cruz.