The Great Gilbert Gourd Hunt is an Award-Winning Initiative That’s Driving Traffic to Downtown Businesses Every Fall

Background

The town of Gilbert, Arizona celebrates the arrival of fall each year with five weeks of fun. Harvest in the Heritage District is a seasonal initiative that previously consisted of a few events, seasonal specials at local downtown merchants, and some pretty decorations. It was good, but three creative DMO professionals wanted to take it to another level. Liz Mangan, Senior Tourism Project Manager for Discover Gilbert, explained “We wanted to pivot and do something that really helped draw visitation.” 

They started thinking outside of the box and were thrilled when they were able to bring a fourth creative mind into the mix – a famous pumpkin artist. “It was really anchored when we were able to land Ray Villafane,” she explained. “That's when we included the Great Gilbert Gourd Hunt into the Harvest in the Heritage District celebration.”

“He’s done pumpkin carvings everywhere from Heidi Klum's Halloween Party to the White House. He's a well-known artist, so when we got him, we knew we had to activate his art installations in a really big way. That's how the scavenger hunt came about.”

The Great Gilbert Gourd Hunt 

Villafane’s displays are installed around the downtown area, known as the Heritage District, and the scavenger hunt is a family-friendly activity that allows visitors to take a stroll and check-in at each display. 

The Great Gilbert Gourd Hunt is an interactive experience that really engages passholders. Last year, it was set up as a quiz that included trivia questions at each installation. It was very successful, but in an effort to keep it fresh, this year the team decided to do something different. “We decided to do Tales from the Heritage District. When they check in, we have a story connected to each of the vignettes,” said Mangan. 

She explained Bandwango’s role in the project, saying, “Bandwango was the holder of that scavenger hunt. What was so great about it is it allowed us to also expand our marketing reach through the registration process, and then also collect data to see if people were moving around the downtown area and checking in at the different points.”

Marketing the Pass

Streeter explained the marketing mix that has worked well for them. “We are doing public relations around the whole event and then supporting it with some social media spending.” 

There are three main initiatives that she feels have contributed to the campaign’s success. 

• Discover Gilbert’s Discovery Center ambassadors and merchant participation and support
• Meta campaign‍
• Earned media

The Launch Party

Launch parties can help create hype, and Streeter shared that her team has found a strategy that’s worked well for their destination. 

“To kick off our event, we do a media night where we host content creators and influencers in our market. They're checking out the event, and then telling their viewers and followers how to download the passport. That's been a good way to get the word of mouth going, and I think that's helping contribute to the number of registrations that we're receiving.”

The media event involved a downtown dine-around. Media participants are encouraged to stop at select Gilbert restaurants to get a bite and a tasting while they're out there on the hunt. “We also encouraged them to bring friends and family,  and even get their kids involved,” said Streeter. “We really encourage that family atmosphere. And then with the merchant participation, it's bringing folks directly to the doors of those businesses.” 

Pre-registrations

“The Bandwango team was incredible,” said Mangan.  We built the pass, and then they did a quality check, and refreshed me on how to build it for pre-registration, which is really nice as a marketing strategy in itself.”  

A pre-registration form was put on their website about two weeks before the launch of the campaign. This allowed people to sign up for the Great Gilbert Gourd Hunt in advance, and the passholders received their digital pass as soon as it officially launched. 

“I feel like it was a successful strategy, and it allows us to keep our webpage active and updated, without us officially launching the pass, because the pass really cannot be live at all until the art installation is completely loaded in,” explained Mangan. “We do some early promotion of that webpage, and that's where the press release will link to as well.”

Measurement of Success

The team shared that they have access to some of the town’s data tools to collect information on visitation. They also conduct surveys with consumers and local businesses, and track merchant engagements and the number of merchants who are participating. They also use Bandwango’s reporting data. Mangan shared there are two data points that she pays attention to, “The Bandwango pass registrations and check-ins are two measures that we use as well.”

Results

Of course, winning the Special Event Golden Prospector Award from the Arizona Association of Economic Development serves as an additional measurement of a successful campaign. The team is proud of that accomplishment, but they are more proud of the impact they’ve made in their community. 

Mangan said, “We've seen some really positive outcomes. We use a couple of different systems to measure engagement, activity, and visitation, and we continue to see growth. We feel like the gourd hunt is a big piece of the success of drawing visitation to our Heritage District. We are hitting our goals.” 

2025 Campaign

• Pass sign-ups: 1,083
• Check-ins: 5,462

2026 Campaign (as of 10/29/26)

• Pass sign-ups: 1,0122
• Check-ins: 3,238

She shared another important takeaway from what she’s seen in the data. “We do see a lot of outside users coming in.” 

• As of 10/22/26, The Great Gilbert Gourd Hunt had passholders that represented 19 states and provinces. 

The visitors are loving it, but so are the local businesses. She added, “When we surveyed our local business community, they said they saw a positive impact from the celebration. We also track visitation year over year to businesses that were near a check-in point, and we did see increased visitation.”

Discover Gilbert’s Tips for Creating a Successful Scavenger Hunt

Communicate with the Bandwango team

Mangan said, “Even though this was my second time building the pass, I had a touch-base call with our customer service rep to talk through what we were hoping to do in this year's pass. They provided feedback, and then I built it right after that meeting. I then reached back out and said, ‘Hey, do you mind just doing a quality check?’ So, I would just say, touch base, build it, and then have them check it. I think you'll find success there.” 

Send a survey to your passholders 

At the conclusion of last year’s campaign, the DMO used Bandwango’s messaging platform to send a survey to passholders who had opted in to receive information. “A really helpful thing with the Bandwango passport was to be able to survey through their email communication portals,” shared Mangan. “We could send the link, thank them for participating, and ask if they’d like to provide feedback. That was a helpful tool within the passport as well, and the responses we got were overwhelmingly positive.” 

If you’re considering an idea, trust your instincts and just do it

“I think all DMOs should trust their crazy ideas, and just truly dive in on this,” said Streeter. “Most destinations are looking for data to tell their story, and this gives you data. You're looking at check-ins, you're looking at where they're arriving from. You’re seeing your visitor connecting with your destination offering in real time. It's a pretty powerful tool.”

Use relevant prizes that match your pass

With a scavenger hunt that sends passholders around town to find pumpkin sculptures, pumpkin plushies seemed like the perfect prize. Mangan says they’ve been a big hit. “I didn't think they were going to be so incredibly popular. It’s not just for the kids. The adults want the plushies, too. It's pretty funny, and I think that this is so successful because it is a seasonal prize.” They also have bottle bags that passholders can win as well. The DMO has also done prize drawings for gift cards to local merchants. “I think there are lots of ways to provide incentives,” she shared.

Consider having a paper version of the pass, too

Discover Gilbert also has a printed version of the pass that includes a QR code to promote the digital version. Tourism Program Manager Glenn Schlottman explained, “It's just another tool to promote the digital pass and it’s an inclusive measure for those that might not have access, or the physical ability to use a digital passport.” The team adamantly says that the paper pass will never replace the digital pass, and Schlottman explained, “It’s only strengthened our digital pass. It really hasn't taken away. We'll see families, and the kids will be holding the paper pass, and the parents will be on the digital pass.” The digital pass also includes opportunities to win additional prizes, so there’s more incentive to use that one.  

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Conclusion

The three-person team at Discover Gilbert is proof that with a great idea, a small but strategic team can make big things happen. 

Schlottman shared his thoughts and said, “It's been great to connect with our visitors, and also reconnect. The power of this pass is the fact that we're able to have people register for something and bring them back the next year when we redo the activation.”

Bandwango has enjoyed partnering with the team for two years on The Great Gilbert Gourd Hunt, and Mangan shared her final thoughts about her experience working with the Bandwango team: “They really do set you up for success.” 

This has been a creative and successful fall campaign, and we can’t wait to see it come back next year. If you’re looking for creative ideas for this fall and winter, reach out to the Bandwango team to set up a free consultation.