Organizers planned for months, but in the days leading up to Bristol’s first Community Night Out, it looked like the weather — the one thing all the organizing in the world can’t control — was not going to cooperate. Fortunately, the evening of Wednesday, Aug. 17 was perfect, defying all forecasts.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with the way it turned out,” said Sergeant Ricardo Mourato who, along with Officer Brandon Correia, planned the event. “The community came together to support the police and fire department and local businesses….we wanted to showcase local restaurants, and they donated all the food. The dunk tank raised $913 for the Animal Shelter. Cops vs. kids basketball, the pie eating contest, and the soccer shoot with the Elks were all a big success.”

Mourato is planning to bring Community Night Out back next year as an end of summer event, and hopes to partner with the town’s backpack giveaway effort.

“I think the success of the event was the monumental planning conducted by Sergeant Mourato and Officer Correia and it’s beyond noteworthy how much passion they put into the event,” said Chief Kevin Lynch. “The team of department heads working under Town Administrator Contente have such valued respect for each other and that to me was clearly evident from the success of the evening.”

“We tracked several communities doing similar National Night Out events to garner best practices and Bristol topped them all in my humble view,” Lynch continued. “The evening was a joy to watch as countless families, including officers’ families, loved ones and our community youth all enjoyed the evening. I would like to personally thank our elected officials, Town Administrator Steven Contente and Town Clerk Melissa Cordeiro and the entire Town Council for their support and attendance, community volunteers, key sponsors and the business community for stepping up and working in concert with us to give the community a safe and old-fashioned community night to remember.”

Sponsors included Bristol Elks, Harborside Realty, Bank Newport, BayCoast Bank, Bristol House of Pizza, Common Pub, HELM Message & Bodyworks, GGs Pretzels, CB Utility, Thistle & Posy Flowers, McCarthy Automotive Repair, Mike’s Portable Restrooms, Kim Teves of the Kimberly Group, Law Office of Steven M. Hudak Esq., Corlion Entertainment, C&R Mercantile, DeWolf Tavern, JML Excavation, East Bay Custom Cycles Inc., Reliable Pest Control, Coastal Credit Union, NorthCoast Boats, The Dry Clean Queen, Cordeiro Landscaping, Brick Pizza Co., Borealis Coffee, CPs Catering and Sandwich Shop, Nacho Mammas’s, Thames Waterside, DJ Scotty P, RI National Guard, Becky DiStefano, and Officer Jay Rogers and his partner K9 Marty of the East Providence PD.

“It was special to see old-fashioned games like the pie-eating contest and the soccer shoot,” said Town Administrator Steven Contente. “It was so nice to see people of all ages enjoying themselves; it’s those little things that come together to make a healthy community. Chief Lynch’s leadership is to be commended — he knows how important it is to make these kinds of connections in the community.”