Scavenger Hunt

Thanks to all who came out to my third Scavenger Hunt event. It has been a few years since the last one, and I think it was overdue! We had four teams participate in the hunt and a bunch of folks show up for the barbecue after as well. I was pleased with the turnout, even though we lost a lot of people to weddings and The Concert for Toronto which took place on the same day.

For those of you who weren't there, I made a list of items to find and things to do and sent the teams off to get as many of the items as possible. The list was longer than in previous hunts (a fact I regretted when it came time to judge it) and with four hours to hunt, no one really came close to getting everything. That said it took me close to 2 hours to do the judging! (I didn't expect them to) I think next time around I will include more things to do and less actual items to find to make judging a bit easier. The consensus seems to be that those were the part that the participants enjoyed the most as well. I also thought it was neat to have lots of photo items since many people now have digital cameras, and it also creates a fun souvenir of the hunt

Bad: Too lazy to get a picture of their group at Alternatives, of all the groups that you would think would own a For Dummies book they don't have one, only group to not get a gummie bear
Photos to come when Ryan delivers them to me.

Dazed and Confused 398 pts
Todd Fagel, Sarah Hey, Karen McGlone, John Miller, Daisy Wu, Recruited Robyn
Good: Repeat attempts at the kiss that's still intangible, only group to get a card I sent them (and it was an old one at that!), only group to get a copy of NOW, best effort for 'sugar and spice and everything nice', most creative entry for 'with polar bears its mostly uphill', one of two groups to attempt 'fashion nugget', best score for bottle caps with a bunch I don't have in my collection, best essay on what they like about Jeremy

Bad: *I* have a picture of Todd at Skydome but they didn't get that one, lost points on 50 piece by not going to Sarah's house, lost their paper clip en route, no apron, didn't know my middle name.

Team Yeast Poop 369 pts
Katie Davis, Rob Davis, Kim Hunter, Shawn Hodgson, Ben Wong, recruited Mrs. Davis
Good: Good giant nickel pic, good picture of Rob on the street working for porn, only group to get bowling score card (and it was old), only group to get a bowling trophy, only group to get PEI Sand, best effort for 'Out of body experience', their attempt at an electron got them points for 'something half assed', actually went to a brewery and got dead yeast and sediment - I would have accepted anything alcoholic, still owe me something to make my eyes bug out :), only group to get a silver jet

Bad: only group not to get OLP poem, only group not to get moose in a can, only group to not write a Jerry Springer letter

3 'Gals' & A Guy in a Dress 342 points
Sarabeth Craigs, Matangi, ?, Steve
Good: No pic at a beer fest - i gave Sarabeth one for Christmas, didn't race shopping carts, had a person as their something from PEI, made a fashion nugget, only group to 'get arrested' on camera with actual police officer obliging (I should point out that nothing illegal was going on and they appreciated the officers friendliness in helping them), second highest for bottle caps, only team to get a Don Cherry Bubba (which will be proudly displayed at Chez Jeremy), paid Barney's tab, my sister knew her own name, one of the best Emperor Penguins, claimed to have measured exactly 20 grams of smarties, but there was obviously way more than that! (That's not a bad thing! Yummm Smarties!!!)
Bad: My sister didn't get PEI Sand, or a card from me. nothing to make Jeremy's eyes bug out, no picture of Jeremy,

General Comments:
Good: I was impressed with the creativity of the photos, and some of the other entries, was surprised people did as well on the Comic strip questions as they did. Every group had an organ donor card, three out of four got moose in a can, with one actually getting the kinds you can buy in souvenir shops, Everyone did very well on the trivia questions in general, so they are all either very smart, or very good with internet search engines!
Bad: Only one group other than the group that had actual PEI sand made an attempt. The quality of the thank you cards for the hostess (Thanks Kate!) were pathetic, don't quit your day jobs! I think only one group remembered to give it to her! Disappointed that no one attempted a stairway to heaven, though Excelsior was going to after the deadline. No one even attempted the OHL ticket stub (make one, bring in another kind of ticket stub...) same for CFL jersey. I was really hoping someone would have an Original Six beer bottle for me to keep, but alas, no. Only one group got a hockey puck??? Not very many attempts were made at the more creative items, such as the music and Tragically Hip section, but the ones that were attempted were pretty good. (That's why I put them on there!)

The Prizes

Grand Prize: (Team with highest points total for the hunt.)
Team Excelsior. $5 gift certificate to The Irish Embassy Pub and Grill, and a t-shirt from Black Oak Brewing Co. I would suggest they try the brunch, it was excellent when I was there.

Beer Prize: (Team with highest points in beer related items.)
Dazed and Confused. 1 team member was picked at random, and Todd Fagel received a dinner for two at La Brasserie in Toronto. Having taken a closer look at the menu there I am jealous. They have an excellent beer selection.

Jerry Springer Prize:(Best letter saying why they should appear on The Jerry Springer Show.)
Excelsior. I have not posted the letter to protect the guilty. They received my personal copy of Jerry Springer "Too Hot For TV", which I purchased in University. There is a moderately interesting story behind that. If you want to hear it, ask me.
Runner Up: Todd Fagel. I actually thought Todd's letter was better, but it was not as 'Springeresque' as Team Excelsiors.

Eyes Bug Out: (For 'something that will make Jeremy’s eyes bug out of his head')
Dazed and Confused. John Miller made my eyes bug out by reaching up behind me and grabbing my chest. John received a set of plastic novelty glasses with springy eyes, graciously donated by the Chris Galizia Apartment Move Foundation. :)
Runner Up: Team Yeast Poop. Promised something risque that never quite materialized.

Consolation prize:
Team Yeast Poop. Had a good showing and lots of good items but no prizes. A gift certificate to The Irish Embassy and a small stuffed animal of forgotten origin.

Ice Cream Prize:
Each team received a coupon for Scoops Ice Cream in Port Credit for the member of their group who liked ice cream the most.

Lessons learned:
Make the list shorter - it just took too long to judge. The other option is to have more judges, but its harder to be consistent with more than one judge. Add more items like "Give Jeremy a backrub." :) More things to do. I have actually already thought of a ton of cool ideas for next time. Do it more frequently - It has been a couple years since the last one, and we showed that we can raise some money for a good charity (The Toronto Humane Society), so why not do it every year? Maybe do it earlier or later in the year - there are too many events in summer competing for peoples time.

Thanks again to all the sponsors and everyone who came out for the hunt and the BBQ.