An Airdrie resident is planning a month-long scavenger hunt this October to promote local businesses.
According to organizer Vanessa Logan, the Airdrie Business Scavenger Hunt will run from Oct. 1 to 31. She said the event’s premise is for people in Airdrie to “learn more about different businesses” and what they have to offer.
“It’s actually been blowing up, so it’s been really good – a lot of people are excited,” she said.
Logan said she came up with the idea after searching a local business directory. She was surprised to see Airdrie boasts more than 25 pizza parlours.
“How many other things do we not know about?” she said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to find out what’s out there – maybe they’ll find the perfect store for them.”
Logan said her goal is to get at least 25 local businesses to participate in the scavenger hunt. She added each storefront will be the location of a hidden item or clue, which participants will have to find.
“The stores will fill out a form saying you’ve [found the item], so everyone has to go up to an employee at the store to say they’ve found the item,” Logan said. “They’ll show they’ve found the item and then it’s up to the store to keep track of who found them and when.”
As an additional incentive, those who take part in the scavenger hunt will be entered into a draw, Logan said. The first-place prize is $1,000 cash, while the runner-up will receive a gift basket of undetermined lesser value.
Logan stressed the scavenger hunt is not a race and the person who finishes first will not necessarily win the prizes. She said anyone who participates in the hunt will be entered into a draw and the first two names drawn will win the prizes. The number of items you find increases your chance of winning.
“Every store you find a clue at will put an entry into a draw, and then the name will be picked,” she said. “If you do every store and there ends up being 30 stores, you’ll have 30 entries. But if you only do five stores, you’ll only have five entries.”
The only cost for businesses to participate, according to Logan, is contributing $20 or something of equivalent value to the gift basket.
“It’s a great advertising opportunity for the businesses because they’re hopefully going to get a lot of people going to their businesses,” she said. “All they have to pay is $20, which is most likely a write-off for them because it is most likely going to be a gift certificate.”
Sponsors for the event include Woodside Denture Centre, All Fitts Automotive Inc. and Shoplift Deals.
Because the event wraps up on Halloween, Logan said the scavenger hunt will also include a virtual Halloween-themed dance party that will take place prior to the draw. She said a DJ will live stream music from the event’s Facebook page for costume-clad participants to dance along to.
“From your phone or computer, you can request different songs and we’re actually going to have contests throughout the night, where there will be other opportunities to win other things,” Logan said.
For more information, including a list of participating businesses and info on how to sign up for the scavenger hunt, Logan said to search "Airdrie Business Scavenger Hunt" on Facebook.
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
