Hyattsville Night Out Could Get International Makeover

In a bid to keep a major city festival in West Hyattsville, members of the Hyattsville City Council are considering relocating National Night Out to Hamilton Street and incorporating into it elements familiar to the old Hyattsville International Street Festival.

Last week, after initially being cut from Mayor Marc Tartaro's proposed fiscal year 2014 budget, the Hyattsville City Council approved a measure allocating an extra $15,000 to the city police department in next year's budget for National Night Out, an event designed to help residents and local law enforcement get to know each other. In the past, the event was held at Magruder Park and has been funded through sponsorships. 

According to a report in The Gazette, the city is looking to include two international performance groups in this year's National Night Out. 

This is just the latest saga in a long and winding road for the International Street Festival. Last year, after a year hiatus, the event was re-imagined as Handmade on Hamilton, a craft festival, and moved from the summer months to early November. 

But that was a contentious move. After considerable debate, Handmade on Hamilton was subtitled as "an international celebration of craft, music and food" as a way to link to event to the old International Street Festival. 

But those efforts were not enough to overcome poor attendance and high costs associated with the re-branded Hamilton Street event. It was the most expensive event held in the city of Hyattsville last year, with a bottom line of roughly $46,000, but attracted only an estimated 500 visitors.