Local law enforcement officials joined with local residents and children to celebrate the 35th annual Neighborhood Watch program at Lemoore's Heritage Park Tuesday night.

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Tuesday’s event drew approximately 1,000 people.

National Night Out is a community and police awareness event customarily held nationwide on the first Tuesday in August and has been held annually since 1984. The event is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch in the United States and Canada.

National Night out had simple beginnings as neighbors initially turned on their porch lights, sitting in front of their homes. The first National Night Out involved 2.5 million people across 400 communities in 23 states. More recently over 38 million residents in 16,000 cities in the U.S. participate annually.

Lemoore Volunteer Fire Department firefighter Abi Shiyamura helps five-year-old Jesse Martinez cool down the crowd at the Neighborhood Watch event Tuesday.

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The event is meant to increase awareness about police programs in communities such as Neighborhood Watch, drug prevention, and other police programs.

Lemoore has been involved in the program for well over 20 years, starting with neighborhood gatherings where neighbors got together for hot dogs, conversation and visits from law enforcement officials.