Woodsfield Savings Bank Manages the Pumpkin Festival Parade for the Last Year
After five years of managing the Pumpkin Festival Parade, Woodsfield Savings Bank is handing over the reins to another company for 2026.
Woodsfield Savings Bank started managing the parade five years ago because the branch was fairly new to Barnesville and wanted to be more involved with the community, CEO Tracey Craig said. Branch manager at the time, the late Helen Carpenter, talked to the Pumpkin Festival committee and signed up for the task.
In a typical year, the company starts at the beginning of the year sending out letters to area colleges and high schools to see if marching bands will participate. They also send out all other forms of registration to former participants and others.
In early August, the applications starts to accumulate. During festival week, staff will spend hours assigning entries in different spots to create a nice variety for the procession. As Saturday hits and late participants continue to register, employees will help them with the process. Staff is staged throughout the parade route to keep the flow moving along.
It is a big endeavor to manage the parade, Craig said. It’s a big commitment for staff, volunteers, spouses, children and board of directors.
“It’s just a big undertaking with the number of people needed to put it on and run it as smoothly as possible,” he said. “So we just decided we needed a little break.”
The bank doesn’t have a final count for this year’s parade, but Craig said usually an average of 100-130 organizations participate.
“We’ve really enjoyed it the past five years,” Craig said, “doing this not only for the festival, but for the community. The whole event is fantastic.”
Mountain Aire Heating and Air Conditioning has stepped up to take over as parade manager for next year’s festival. Their staff will shadow the bank employees and volunteers Saturday to get a feel for it.
Craig said he is appreciative the company has stepped up.
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