Chance Crowe beamed from the driver’s seat of a firetruck, a roll of cotton candy clinging to a stick in his hand.
The 3-year-old boy’s mother, Candace Hartney, snapped a photo on her cellphone and a firefighter helped the boy from his perch.
“Was that fun?” Hartney asked her son, and he grinned up at her. Indeed it was.
Hartney, Chance and his two older brothers, 7-year-old Cayden Crowe and 14-year-old Nick Hartney were one of many families that attended Akron’s National Night Out events on Tuesday evening.
The events — held at 13 locations across the city and in other area communities — attracted hundreds of people to each location in an effort to raise awareness about crime prevention and safety.
“I think it’s great,” Hartney said. “I think it’s cool that they’re bringing everyone together. Plus, they don’t get to be in a firetruck every day.”
Her family, which lives in the neighborhood, attended the event at Arlington Plaza. There, participants were offered free drinks and food and were encouraged to talk to the many vendors, who set up tables to provide information on social and health services and the criminal justice system.
Children posed for photos with mascots, while others chatted with police officers with smiles on their faces. Near the firetruck, kids learned how firefighters travel to scenes.
“How long do you think the ladder on top of this truck extends?” one firefighter asked a young boy.
“Twenty feet?”
“Longer.”
“Forty feet?”
“Seventy-five feet,” said the firefighter, to the boy’s amazement.
Charles Brown, the city’s deputy mayor for public safety, also was in attendance. He said he was glad so many people showed up at the event.
“As I was coming down, I saw people walking here from their homes,” he said. “That’s always great to see when we’re doing an event like this.”
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ngfalcon.