ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
Those looking to spend an evening out among other members of the community while supporting local law enforcement will soon have just that opportunity.
Liberal's Night Out will be happening from 3 to 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 at Light Park and as Community Police Coordinator Dalanie Underwood tells, it, there is a lot to be excited about.
“We invite everyone to join us at what promises to be the most epic family bash in town. Dive into delicious treats from various food trucks and explore a variety of booths featuring local businesses and vendors, and don’t forget to catch the thrilling performance by the one and only Maddox Ross,” Underwood said. “This event ensures fun for the whole family. We are also excited to partner with the Mid-America Air Museum for our Liberal’s Night Out event. It is one of the largest aviation museums in the U.S. and is located right here in Liberal. We encourage everyone to stop by before heading out the Liberal’s Night Out to take advantage of the free admission that day, and while you’re there by sure to check out the AC-47 Gunship ‘Spooky,’ which is owned by the American Flight Museum, INC. in Topeka, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.”
Underwood said last year’s event ended up being successful, and given that, she hopes to see another big event this year.
“Last year’s Liberal’s Night Out went well for it taking place a chilly evening in November. We didn’t see the turnout our summer event would have, but it was still a great turnout and it seemed everyone enjoyed themselves,” Underwood said. “This year’s event is still a bit later in the year than it has been previously, however, we are excited for some of the changes coming this year. A big change is that we will have live music this year, and we are so excited to welcome Maddox Ross back to Southwest Kansas. We know he will be a great addition to the night. We also spoke with multiple vendors and some community members and the feedback we received was a lot about timing (day of the week, length of the event, etc), so we decided to change that up this year and see how that turns out. So instead of Friday evening, it is now Saturday afternoon/evening. We are excited to just have a day to celebrate our community and bring everyone together for a great night!”
With there still being some time before the event, Underwood offered encouragement for vendors to sign up for a space at this year’s event.
“We are accepting vendor applications until Oct. 1, and we are looking for information booths, games, vendors, and whoever else is interested,” Underwood said. “Booths are free of cost to set up, and if you are interested, please check out the event on our Facebook for the link or contact me by phone 620-626-0517 or by email at
“We are also working with the Mid-America Air Museum, which has been so great!” Underwood said. “The staff over there are fantastic and have been a great help during these planning stages, so we encourage everyone to be sure and visit them during their free admission day that day. Last year, we were contacted about hosting an event in honor of Faith & Blue weekend. This year, Faith & Blue weekend fell too close to our other events, but we didn’t want to miss out on it. The mission of the Faith & Blue organization is to bridge the gap between local law enforcement, ministries, and our communities. We couldn’t think of a better event than Liberal’s Night Out to carry out that mission. We are excited to keep Faith & Blue alive within our community and to feature it at our Liberal’s Night Out event.”
Underwood said LPD staff is excited for this year’s event and hopes to see a big turnout.
“This is one of those events that truly has something for everyone in our community,” Underwood said. “For us, this is a chance to further build our relationship with our community. Community policing is a huge part of our department and we love when we get the chance to interact with the members of our community in a positive way and this event helps our staff do that. Our community gets to chat with our staff and learn more about our department and helps humanize the badge. We are constantly reminded of how supportive our community is and this is just a small way of showing our appreciation. This is an event for the whole family, and there is a little something for everyone. The Liberal Animal Shelter will also be hosting a microchipping clinic that evening, so if anyone is interested in that part of the event, we will be putting out more information soon, so we encourage people to keep an eye on our Facebook and other social media pages.”
