Five Things: National Night Out, Swimming with Sharks Among Upcoming Events in Santa Monica

1. Santa Monica Police will take part in National Night Out at 6 p.m. Aug. 6 in the Civic Center Parking Lot at 1855 Main St. The event will feature food, entertainment, inflatable rides, carnival games, fire truck, police vehicles and raffles.

2. Julie Andersen will speak at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium about swimming with sharks at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 4. Learn more on Heal the Bay's website.

3. A workshop on solar water heating basics is set for Wednesday at the Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. The workshop is free and being offered by SoCalGas. Register at SoCalGas.com.

4. Make Sure You're "Patched In" to get alerts on breaking news as it happens in town this week (and after). Click on the 'get the daily newsletter' at the top, right corner of this page. (If you see something that says, "hi, username," then you're already registered. In that case, click on "email settings" under the drop-down tab under your name.)

5. Have a tip about happenings around Santa Monica? Email me at jessica.davis@patch.com.