National Night Out 2008: the West Side represents

National Night Out energized the nation on August 5, 2008. The community-based event was initially developed as a creative way to address crime and bring attention to drug prevention. The long list of block parties, public gatherings, ice cream socials, and cookouts stretched throughout local neighborhoods. A powerful movement nestled in the Mississippi riverbank on St. Paul’s West Side was stirring with change -- real action toward solidifying black-white-brown unity.

B FRESH Photography

Nicque Mabrey on Wyoming Street was a recipient of Edy’s 2008 Slow Churned Neighborhood Salute. In her winning essay, she described why the kids on her block deserved an ice cream party, as well as her concerns about the foreclosures and abandoned properties in the area. “There is potential for a great sense of community on the block…National Night Out was a really great opportunity to meet neighbors, and it lets us know that we don’t have to have a lot to be a community. It’s possible to come together without a lot of resources. We can all do it!”