On Oct. 28th, First National Bank & Trust in Iron Mountain, Mich., will sponsor the second annual Downtown Iron Mountain Pumpkin Walk event. The $400 million-asset community bank—with assistance from the Downtown Development Authority—established the event last year to raise funds for downtown Iron Mountain businesses and unite the community through a fun, family-friendly Halloween celebration.
Michael Gayan, the community bank’s marketing director and one of the organizers for the event, said that the bank holds a similar Christmas event but decided to give it a spooky twist for Halloween. During the Downtown Iron Mountain Pumpkin Walk, community members can participate in a costume contest, trick-or-treating and a window decorating competition.
Before the event, each business receives a theme for its decorations. For example, First National Bank & Trust had a circus theme last year, and its employees dressed up as clowns and other circus characters.
Last year, the Dickinson County Library had two special ghoulish attractions: a glowing golf course and a spooky story stroll through downtown. “There were a lot more people than we planned on,” said Gayan. “There were around 450 people in the library!”
Thanks to its first-year success, First National Bank & Trust is eager to see how the event grows, with more participants and attention-grabbing activities to come. “We weren’t sure how it would go [last year], but the event exceeded our expectations,” Gayan said. “So we are more than happy to organize the event again this year.” —Aveya Hannan