By Zach Dunkin
For who knows how many years now, Leigh Ann Akard has been “running around like crazy” barking instructions over her walkie-talkie and putting out fires a couple of nights before Halloween. It takes a lot of effort to organize the annual Boone Village Halloween Party and keep it running smoothly. Why does she do it?
“It’s all about the kids,” said Akard, the co-owner of the event host Akard True Value Hardware. “We get herds of kids. It’s so much fun seeing them. And it’s the way Boone Village can give back to the community. It’s our one big event of the year.”
Akard’s family has operated a hardware store in Zionsville since 1955, first on Main Street before moving to the Boone Village Shopping Center, at the corner of W. Oak St. and Ford Rd.
“I’m not sure how many years we’ve been doing this (party) – probably 35-plus years, ever since I was a kid,” said Akard.
This year’s party on Oct. 29 will feature a costume contest, games and safe trick-or-treating as shopping center merchants hand out the goodies through 7 p.m. The jazz band will kick off the event with a performance at 5:20 p.m., and the costume contest will start at 6 p.m. There are four divisions: 2 and younger, ages 3-4, ages 5-7 and 8 and older.
“The costume contest is a huge draw,” Akard said.
Also returning will be the “Kid’s Imaginative Design Award” for the child who best created his or her own costume.
“We’re looking for the kid who is probably not going to win the contest,” Akard said. “The underdog who makes their own costume using their imagination and their own materials.”
The event is not exclusive to the shopping center’s businesses, said Akard.
“Other businesses in the community are invited to come set up a table and give out candy and brochures about their businesses,” Akard said.
