Mount Vernon residents will host barbecues and ice cream socials as an opportunity to get to know each other and, as a result, try to make the neighborhood a safer place.

Between 6:30 and 9 p.m. Tuesday, residents are invited to turn on their porch lights and mingle as part of National Night Out. Already, more than 100 communities in Virginia are registered to participate.

The idea behind the event is that if residents get to know each other better, they will be more likely to work together to help keep their neighborhoods safe.

Here's where you can participate in National Night Out in Mount Vernon on Tuesday night:

Creekside Apartments, 7939 Janna Lee Ave., 5-7 p.m.

Engleside, 5118 Rosemont Ave., 5:30-8 p.m.

Mount Zephyr/Mount Vernon Manor, 8412 Richmond Ave., 6:30-8:30 p.m.

Pinewood Lawns, 5601 Pole Rd., 6-8 p.m.

Progreso, 4100 Mohawk Ln., 5:30-8 p.m.

Sacramento Center, 8792-E Richmond Hwy., 4-6 p.m.

Terrace Townhomes of Woodlawn, 8646 Walutes Ave., 6:30-8:30 p.m.

This nationwide event began in the 1970s as a way to get people out of their homes to meet each other with the common purpose of making communities safer by raising crime prevention awareness.

More information on National Night Out is available at www.natw.org/nno.

-- Patch’s Adam Swart and Joan Dentler contributed to this report.