Out of all the neighborhood events planned for National Night Out tonight (Tuesday), perhaps the "swingingest" will take place at Channing House senior housing in University South.

National Night Out is a nationwide event aimed at building crime-prevention awareness and neighborhood cohesiveness. Eleven Palo Alto neighborhoods will host block parties with a variety of goals.

Some neighborhoods will use the event to achieve a goal, such as raising awareness of emergency preparedness. Other organizers hope people will slow down and meet neighbors who usually rush by.

At Channing House, the nine-story residential community and approximately 285 residents could be considered a neighborhood of sorts in their own right.

But staff members have hosted a National Night Out celebration for several years that has reached out into the surrounding neighborhood, according to Tom Pembleton, Channing House administrator.

The party includes food on the back patio and live music with the Mission Gold Jazz Band, between 6 and 9 p.m., Pembleton said.

Knowing one's neighbor's is also a way to improve neighborhood safety and preparedness, he said.

Last year, 30 University South residents showed up for the bash, some with children in tow. "The kids are always a big draw," for Channing House seniors, Pembleton said.

In the Barron Park neighborhood, National Night Out will take a pragmatic tone.

Local block coordinators who are part of the larger neighborhoods-wide Palo Alto Neighborhoods (PAN) Block Preparedness Program will gather at the home of Lydia Kou, Barron Park Association neighborhood safety and preparedness committee chairwoman.

"Having not met each other, it's a good way to connect a name to a face. After all, we are a team," she said. "They also realize they're not on their own and can contact each other for ideas."

The Midtown Residents Association party, takes on a multicultural flavor. A potluck dinner will commence at 5:15 p.m. at Hoover Park, according to Annette Ashton, emergency-preparedness coordinator.

Sheri Furman, association president, will fire up the grill and at least two different musical groups might provide live music, Ashton said.

"If we get 40 to 50 people, that will be great," she said.

Midtown has a strong emergency-preparedness program, she said, and staff from the police and fire departments and government officials will visit the party, plus there will be free giveaways and an emergency-prep display.

Midtown's "green team" will be on hand to help residents to live more sustainably.

"We're trying to encourage people to walk or bike and to reuse water bottles," Ashton said.

Ashton is excited about the multicultural theme of the event.

"There are so many fascinating people. Many people are from a variety of Asian countries; there are Russians and people from Mexico.

"We're so close to Stanford, and there are many students and visitors. They say they speak 50 languages in the schools and we probably have all 50 languages in Midtown," she said.

She herself will bring potato salad and raspberry-tart cookies that hark back to her own heritage, she said.