DDA keeps Pumpkin Crawl allergy-friendly, sets higher fee for outside participants

The Downtown Development Authority voted to keep allergy-friendly options at its annual Pumpkin Crawl and to charge outside participants a higher participation fee.

The board confirmed the Pumpkin Crawl (with a concurrent Trick and Treasure event) is slated for Oct. 25 and discussed volunteer needs and promotional outreach to local businesses. "It is an allergy free event or allergen friendly event," said Board member 2, arguing for clear allergy-friendly offerings. Chair said the board could provide both allergy-friendly items and other options in separate areas, noting it was feasible to ask parents about items and to ask businesses to segregate allergen-free selections.

Board members debated packaging and cross-contamination risks and discussed alternatives to candy — such as small branded trinkets — to reduce waste and broaden offerings. Staff noted past event costs, saying the DDA spent about $2,400 on candy in a prior year and recommended bulk purchasing and business partnerships to offset costs.

On pricing, the board agreed to keep the standard participation fee at $100 for DDA businesses and to charge a higher fee for outside participants; the discussion recorded the outside-participant fee as $125. The board also asked promotions staff to create clear marketing and possible color-coded signage to indicate allergy-friendly locations.

The board emphasized volunteer recruitment and business engagement to run games and monitoring stations and asked staff to coordinate sign-ups and outreach. No separate vote on marketing details was recorded; practical follow-up was assigned to the promotions committee and staff ahead of the event.

The decision maintains allergy-friendly options while allowing variety and business creativity at the event, with staff directed to finalize logistics and promotion.