MONTGOMERY CO., Va. – With Halloween just over two weeks away, 30 businesses in Montgomery County are getting into the spirit of the holiday.
“So, we did our first display last year,” said Brad Woolwine, owner of All Pest Control. “And then this year the chamber of commerce came up with the window contest with other companies in the area to do a competition. And so we decided to go all out this year and see what we have.”
Ryan McCoy of Elite AC & Heating said the contest is more about fun than competition.
“I think it’s great. I think that the more businesses participate, the more fun it is,” McCoy said. “They call it a competition, but to us it’s really just something fun to do. It makes a lot of people happy. Kids especially like looking at it.”
Steve Baffuto, CEO of the Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce, agreed.
“It’s not just about the decorations; it’s about community pride, and bringing visibility to the businesses in Montgomery County,” Baffuto said.
The participating businesses have also experienced some financial benefits from the contest.
“We’ve been very fortunate. A lot have stopped because of the decorations on the windows and then come in to shop. And then once they get in, they fall in love with it,” said Connie Gray, sister of the owner of The Little Bookworm.
McCoy said the decorations have drawn new attention to their business as well.
“We’ve definitely had people call in and stop by just from seeing it that otherwise may not have,” he said. “I think definitely it brings a lot of attention to people who, even if they do have a storefront on a main road like this, they may not otherwise get the attention that they get — and people may not even realize that they are there.”
But above the competitive aspects and bragging rights for the winner, many companies say they’re participating for the community.
“It’s just the community coming together,” Woolwine said. “Let them know that all of our businesses — we’re a small town — we’re here to work together and work with each other.”