It’s too soon to know whether the city of Suffolk will once again win one of the top national awards for its National Night Out celebration, but city officials saw no reason to wait for the national awards to hold a little local celebration of the successful event.

“This year’s event was phenomenal,” city spokeswoman and National Night Out coordinator Diana Klink said at the city’s local awards ceremony last Tuesday.

Indeed, Suffolk has a national reputation for putting on a great crime-fighting party, and this year’s event, held on the first Tuesday of August in conjunction with the nationwide celebration, was no exception.

There were cookouts, socials and block parties with musical entertainment, good food, games, kids’ activities and plenty of opportunities for neighbors to meet new friends, for police officers to introduce themselves in the communities they serve and for city officials to visit all the sites and see who really knew how to throw a party.

All participating communities and businesses were recognized at the event, but some communities received special awards based on youth judges who scored their events on a number of metrics, ranging from pre-event publicity to aspects of the event highlighting crime prevention.

We offer our heartiest congratulations to the following local winners:

Honorable Mention — Suffolk Barber and Beauty, a group of more than 12 downtown businesses

Rookie of the Year — C.H.O.I.C.E. Program

Top Business — United States Army, Including the Army National Guard and Recruiting Center

Best Community

• First Place — Burbage Grant Neighborhood Watch
• Second Place — Lake Kennedy Civic League

Best Combined Community

• First Place — Saratoga/Philadelphia Civic League
• Second Place — Tynes/Spruce Street Communities

Official National Night Out Grand Finale Site Awards

• National Night Out at Obici & Health Fair
• Greater Oakland & Chuckatuck Civic League

Spirit Award — Brittany Hamlin, member of the National Night Out at Obici and Health Fair Committee