No National Night Out or fireworks in Bluffton this summer.

A joint announcement concerning both events follows by the Bluffton police, Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce and Pandora police: 

“Many people have been asking about the status of National Night Out for this summer and we have been working diligently to see if this is an event that we will be able to host for the community,” said Matt Oglesbee, Bluffton police department lieutenant.

“After several discussions and meetings, it has been determined that we will not be able to hold this year’s National Night Out. 

“It pains us to have to make this announcement, as this has become a very looked forward to event in the community every summer, both by those that attend, and by the officers that put this event together and get to interact one on one with you all throughout the evening.”  

No fireworks
Paula Scott, CEO of the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce, also announced, “At this time, the Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce does not have plans to reschedule the fireworks that have been a part of our local National Night Out event.”    

While looking into the feasibility of holding the event this year, we have noted a couple of main factors that went into making this decision:  

• This event is completely free and is funded solely by the kind donations of local businesses and individuals.  We pride ourselves on the fact that the community is behind this event and we do not have to use taxpayer dollars to host it. 

Given the economic climate that we are currently in, we do not feel that it is appropriate to ask for donations from those that have had their business revenues down recently and also for those individuals that may have had their working hours reduced because of the current health crisis.  While we know that many of these folks would still graciously donate to this event, we do not want to ask them to make that decision.  

• National Night Out has grown into a very well attended event over the years.  Each year we have between 1,500 and 2,000 people in attendance.  It would be an impossible task to stay in compliance with the current rules and regulations in place as it pertains to social distancing and gatherings.  

While we know that you all would do your best to self-regulate this matter, we just don’t feel that it can be done in a safe, appropriate, and compliant manner.  

While there are other factors that go into making this unfortunate decision, these are the two main factors that we focused on.  We know this won’t be a popular decision for everyone, but we have taken the community as a whole into account and feel that it is the right decision for the uncertain times that we are currently living in.  

Thank you all for your understanding and we look forward to hosting you next year on Aug. 3,  for National Night Out 2021.

Bluffton and Pandora Police Departments 
Bluffton Area Chamber of Commerce