You may have seen them on the streets of Nelson Sunday afternoon, roaming the town in packs.
For the most part they appeared normal, but there was one participant dressed in a Kanga (a Winnie the Pooh character) onesie.
They all had one goal in mind: to win the Secrets of Nelson’s Underground Scavenger Hunt Adventure.
“It was thought provoking, humourous, educational and an absolute blast,” said Rory Case, whose team finished second.
“Working with my friends to find clues and put the pieces of the mystery together was challenging and fun.”
The scavenger hunt revolved around two themes — the mystery and disappearance of noted Nelson bad-boy Luigi del Puppo, and the tunnels that run underneath the town.
Participants followed their adventure guides, which took them to 16 locations throughout town.
There were no objects to collect for points like in a traditional scavenger hunt. Instead, teams were given points for answering questions about Nelson’s history and culture.
“As a fairly recent transplant to Nelson, the scavenger hunt was an excellent way to learn a little bit about the rich history of the town,” said Alex Wallis.
“The escapades of del Puppo were fairly ridiculous and led us on a wild chase around town trying to figure out what happened.”
All participants gathered at Mike’s Place after the hunt to claim their free drink that was included in the ticket price.
Points were tallied and a free jug of NBC beer went to the winning team called Citizen of the Year.
Prizes included two tickets to the Funk Hunters and a $30 Kootenay Co-op Gift Card.
The event was well received by the 37 participants, who are already hankering for more.
“The whole event was well organized and I was definitely impressed with the calibre of questions,” Case said. “Can’t wait for the next one.”
Wallis concurred.
“I hope something like this happens again, I imagine there are a lot of stories to tell in this town,” he said.
Elliot Robins, who organized the event, said if people want more events like the scavenger hunt, he’s happy to oblige.
“I think the real power of events like these is that they bring the community together,” Robins said.
“If people can have fun and learn something along the way, that’s great. But it’s really all about bringing people together.”