Los Banos will host its annual National Night Out next week on Aug. 4. From 6 to 9 p.m., attendees can enjoy raffles, prizes and a plaza full of food trucks. Hosted as always by the Los Banos Police Department in Henry Miller Plaza, Police Sergeant Ivan Mendez and the rest of the crew will be out and about, connecting with the community and sampling the summer.
Though LBPD presents and advertises the event, all the public safety organizations in the area contribute to the setup and management of the Night Out. Cal Fire, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office, California Highway Patrol and the California State Parks Association all band together to bring the community and the organizations that keep it safe together in one place.
“Trust with law enforcement has decreased over the years, but our job is to reestablish that relationship,” says Sgt. Ivan Mendez, stressing the importance of bringing community members together, “What better way to do that than having a free event to meet the public?”
Last year’s NNO featured over three dozen vendors, live music, the much-anticipated raffle and a crowd 2,000 people strong. This year, LBPD plans to build on the last event and offer bigger prizes, a larger variety of food vendors and more live entertainment than ever before.
In addition to the eminent Taco Trucks, this year’s Night Out will include a Barbecue vendor cooking up classic American comfort food.
A few local coffee shops will be joining in on the festivities for the first time, and guests will now have the option to beat the heat with a cold cup of their favorite iced latte flavors. The confections are not the only aspect of the event that has been bolstered, as this year promises tons of new live performers and activities to keep guests of all ages engaged.
Fan favorites such as the dunk tank and facepainting booths will definitely be making a comeback this year, so kids can have fun masquerading as their favorite animal or superhero while trying their best to send LB’s finest tumbling into the drink.
Ronny’s Inc Landscaping will be rolling out their “Rainforest on Wheels” to bring the majesty of topiary straight to Henry Miller Plaza, and kids will have the chance to flex their creative muscles at the Home Depot arts and crafts station.
As a National Night Out first, the State and Federal Wildlife refuges will be hosting their own booth filled with facts and displays of the fauna surrounding Los Banos, and between these displays of local wildlife and Jessa’s Barnyard Buddies petting zoo, young animal lovers will have plenty of opportunities to get up-close and personal with the natural world.
The National Night Out Raffle will be pulling names for prizes all evening, and, as one of the Police Department’s biggest contributions to the event, will stop more than a few lucky ticket holders from going home empty-handed.
The 2026 raffle will have a slightly smaller prize pool than years past, but only because the items in it have gotten bigger. “We looked at what’s popular, what will get people excited”, says Sgt. Mendez, commenting on the changes made to the prizes this year. “We tried to include popular ‘big tech’ things like drones and video game consoles.”
Aside from the raffle, Night-Outers can stop by the LBPD booth to say hello to their favorite officers and pick up a shirt to commemorate the 2026 event.
The evening will kick off at 6 p.m. sharp on Aug. 4, and Los Banos PD looks forward to greeting the whole community at Henry Miller Plaza in person.
