PRINCETON — The police department will be hosting its first Partner with Princeton community event on Oct. 1 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Heritage Bible Chapel on Brooks Station Road. The event is being presented as an opportunity for the public to get to know local officers, fire personnel, participate in family friendly activities, and more.
Officer Holly Doyle said she was inspired to plan the event after going into the schools last year with her fellow officers and speaking to children about bicycle safety and wanted to expand that outreach. She decided to put something together that families and community members could participate in.
“The more people I spoke to,” Doyle said, “the more people wanted to be involved.”
“It molded into this widespread event with outside police agencies, the fire department, light department, vendors, food trucks, kids games, and so much more,” Doyle said of the upcoming day. “There will be local vendors and organizations, as well as some organizations from the neighboring communities.
“We are very excited to partner with our community to help showcase some of the wonderful people and businesses we have in town, while also providing a fun, safe area for kids to come and learn about public safety (and) bicycle safety and enjoy some food and ice cream.”
She said that while she is spearheading the event, partner Heritage Bible Chapel has “been providing so much support and organizational help.”
“They have made the planning fun and interactive, and they are bringing so much to the table for the children, which will be a really exciting part of the event,” Doyle said. “I have also been asking for assistance from all the police officers in Princeton, to not only spread the word at local businesses about the event but also participate with offering ideas and suggestions.”
There will be plenty of hands-on activities for youngsters and people of all ages, including a “touch a truck” portion where kids can climb into and explore police cruisers, fire trucks, light department trucks, highway trucks, and more cool vehicles.
“We are expecting UMASS Life Flight to land, the Mass State Police Mounted Unit to attend, some local K-9s, motorcycles and cruisers, so there should be plenty of options for kids to really interact with workers and learn about the vehicles and equipment they use on a daily basis,” Doyle said. “We will also have food and ice cream, games, a blow-up obstacle course for kids, raffles and free giveaway items.”
The Princeton Police Department will be raffling two bikes donated by an anonymous donor, a framed poster donated by Mountain Memorabilia, and four tickets to a WooSox game.
“You just have to visit the PPD tent to enter,” Doyle said of the raffle.
She said they are hoping this will turn into an annual event and that all are welcome.
“We are looking forward to getting children and their families out to Princeton to see what our community has to offer, from the venue, the vendors, and local food options,” she said. “We are also excited to have kids interested in learning more about the different trucks and the jobs that we do, whether it be police, fire, EMS, light department, highway department, or any of the other agencies we have attending.”
In addition, Doyle said the police department is “thankful and honored we … have so many people interested in participating.”
“All the local and state agencies we have coming out, all the vendors, food trucks, volunteers, and the Heritage Bible Chapel for allowing us to use their facility and grounds to have a wonderful event. We are excited to see how successful this year can be.”i
