Bank of New Hampshire offers space for PumpkinFest games

By ALANA PERSSON, LACONIA DAILY SUN

LACONIA — Nonprofits in the local community are encouraged to put their "thinking caps" on to come up with a fun, family-oriented game that could be operated in the Bank of New Hampshire parking lot during the 2016 NH PumpkinFest.

The parking lot in front of The Bank of New Hampshire was used last year for community pumpkin carving and pumpkin bowling; however, this year the bank is keeping its parking lot open for nonprofit organizations to run games from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The concept is to use the prime festival space in a way that is able to draw in visitors while helping local organizations raise some money.

"Last year we had lots of nonprofits in town ask how they could get involved, but we had already dedicated our lot to other activities," said Lindsay Cota-Robles, vice president and marketing officer at the Bank of New Hampshire. "This year we wanted to give back to the community so we decided to open up our lot to nonprofits in area that we couldn't provide space for last year."

Now through Friday, Aug. 26, nonprofits are being asked to submit fun, unique and easy game ideas to the Bank of New Hampshire. The bank will be choosing games that are simple and cannot be found anywhere else at the festival. The four to six nonprofits who are selected for the 15-by-15-foot spaces in the parking lot will be notified by Friday, Sept. 2.

Tickets for these events will be $2 each or three for $5. Following the festival, the tickets will be tallied and based on participation at each game, with 25 percent of the proceeds to be donated to the Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce to benefit NH Pumpkin Festival and 75 percent to be donated to the nonprofit. Money will be given to the nonprofit organizations involved on Monday, Oct. 24.

For more information about this event or to submit a game entry, visit www.PumpkinFest@BankNH.com.