Friday afternoon was quite a spooktacular spectacle as the third annual Downtown Trick or Treat event took center stage. Local businesses opened their doors to the citizens of the town, and armed with loads of candy, they happily doled out the sweet treats to the many children that entered their buildings. Parents looked on with pride as their festively clad kids went from business to business, filling their bags and plastic pumpkin pales with candy.
There were many creative costumes to be seen that day. There were witches, princesses, Mario and Luigi, walking Legos, a few dinosaurs, Batman, Frankenstein’s Monster (in baby form), cats, zombies, a Rubik’s Cube, some cute cows, and a dancing Spongebob Squarepants.
The Duneland Chamber of Commerce was in charge of putting the event together. Allyson Baughman, Director of Marketing for the Chamber, was enjoying the event with her family.
“This is our third annual trick or treat in the downtown area,” Baughman said. “And we invite all of the families from the Duneland Communities to come and trick or treat with our downtown businesses. Organizations have opened their doors to the kids, and I think that they are having as much fun as the kids are. A lot of the people at the businesses have dressed up and they have mountains of candy and treats that they are giving out.”
Something new this year to the event was the Chesterton United Methodist Church hosting a truck or treat in the Chamber’s parking lot. Vans were parked in the lot, decked out with Halloween decorations and trunks open. Members of the church dressed up and handed out candy to the kids from those trunks. Think of it as a unique Halloween tailgate party.
This was the first time event for some businesses in the area, while others had been involved since the event began three years ago.
Theresa Lawson helped hand out candy to the kids from new business, Sweetville. It’s a candy shop that has been open for about a year on Calumet in Chesterton. She and her companions loved all the families that came in with kids in creative costumes, many of whom had never been in the shop before.
“It’s amazing to see the line of kids that came through that door during the event,” Lawson said. “It was really cool to see the unique costumes that the kids wore. And parents don’t even know that we are here. They walk through the door with their kids for the trick or treating event and they are so surprised like, ‘Wow! This is cool!”
This event is a great way for the businesses in Chesterton to connect with the citizens on a relaxed and fun level. People discover things in their town that they never knew about before, or things that were known just become better known. Businesses connect with each other –it’s unique networking. This was a good move on the Chamber’s part. They have always been about what is best for the Duneland communities and what can be done to keep the town thriving and prosperous. The Chamber is filled with caring individuals who are from the area, which just adds to their credibility. And the businesses that are members of the Chamber really benefit from their memberships. We at Ideas in Motion Media are proud partners with the Duneland Chamber and we love working with them because we get to see and be part of some wonderful experiences that only the Duneland Chamber can provide.
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Click here to find out more about the Duneland Chamber of Commerce and check them out on Facebook!
Happy Halloween!