The Batavia MainStreet group is encouraging visitors to be out on the hunt to discover new businesses and shopping opportunities in the city’s downtown area by offering a “Share the Hype” scavenger hunt that begins on Saturday.
The first-of-its-kind event in Batavia, which will run through April 6, is described by organizers as “a fun and interactive promotion designed to get the community out and exploring downtown Batavia this spring.”
According to a press release from the Batavia MainStreet group, the event will allow participants to “compete for a chance to win $800 in Downtown Batavia Dollars.”
Batavia MainStreet Assistant Director Kristen Desler said the goal of the hunt “is to encourage people to explore new shops and restaurants” as well as “enjoy the vibrant downtown atmosphere.”
Desler said the first-time program is being rolled out after the MainStreet group received a grant.
“We received grant funding this year from Illinois Main Street. It’s a marketing grant that Batavia MainStreet received and part of our proposal for the funding was to offer a town-wide scavenger hunt, something that would allow all of the downtown businesses to participate,” Desler said. “It was free of charge. We bring it to them – it’s very easy, and we thought this would be a great opportunity for residents and visitors to discover downtown Batavia.”
Desler said the timing of the event “overlaps spring break” and is a time for people not going anywhere “who are looking to get out and do things with their kids.”
Participants will be watching for specially hidden “foam fingers” that are hidden all over town, organizers said. The fingers themselves include a finger pointing upward as well as the words “Downtown Batavia” on them.
“A total of more than 75 foam fingers have been hidden all around town. A couple of businesses have more than one, but overall, there should be more than 70 businesses (involved),” Desler said. “People are encouraged to look in shop windows, the entryway to some businesses, and see some tucked away a little farther in the business stores themselves. The idea is people see them as they walk around town and actually hunt for them.”
A game card component is a part of the promotion. It can be downloaded and people can record the merchant’s name and foam finger location, and return the completed card to Batavia MainStreet by April 6.
“The game card, we ask that people write that they found 10 of the foam fingers, fill the card out and drop it off,” Desler said. “The other way to participate is to take a selfie with the foam finger at the participating businesses and tag and post it on Facebook or Instagram to be entered to win that way.”
For posting on Facebook or Instagram, tagging @downtownbatavia is required to be automatically entered to win, organizers said.
Desler said a total of $800 in Downtown Batavia Dollars that can be spent at local stores will be given away.
“There will be 18 winners including three with $100 in downtown dollars and there will five $50 winners and a total of 10 $25 winners,” she said.
Businesses “are all on-board for the promotion,” Desler said.
“This is typically not a busy time of year downtown, and they are eager to see new faces and have a lot of support during these slower months,” she said.
For more details about the Share the Hype Scavenger Hunt, including how to download a game card, follow @downtownbatavia on Instagram or @BataviaMainStreet on Facebook.
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
