COPPERAS COVE – Downtown Copperas Cove was filled with hundreds of people Saturday, all participating in the kick-off party for National Night Out, which is Tuesday.
Downtown events brought out crowds of families and included a bouncy tank, bounce houses, cornhole, live entertainment and shooting sports to name a few.
Watching her son play Jenga, Tabatha Matthews said she was pleased with how the event turned out.
“We really like it,” he said. “We’ve been trying to do more things in town, community things like this.”
Saturday was the first time Matthews and his family went to the commencement party.
After living in Killeen for a while, Matthews said she and the family moved to Copperas Cove a few years ago.
Since they’ve been to National Night Out block parties in Killeen, she said they’ll probably go to one in Copperas Cove if it’s close to where they live.
Also participating in the kickoff party for the first time was Copperas Cove resident Elmira Matavitski, who has lived in town for four years.
“I love it,” she said. “I didn’t know this little town had so many (many) people here, and so much going on.”
Matavitski moved to the United States from Belarus in the mid-2000s and moved to Copperas Cove from Philadelphia in 2017.
He said the community atmosphere in Copperas Cove is very different than in Belarus.
“The people here are nicer,” he said. “Like, they’re all smiling.”
Matavitski came to the kickoff party with her neighbor and co-worker, Denise Erickson, who comes regularly.
“It’s fun and it’s free, and the kids really like it,” Erickson said.
