FARGO-There are plenty of treasures in downtown Fargo, especially now that a new bounty hunt kicks off with puzzles to solve in 13 participating businesses.
The first-ever Downtown Bounty Hunt starts up Thursday, March 9, and continues through Friday, March 17, asking people of all ages to stop by downtown stores and restaurants to try to solve puzzles. The more puzzles that are successfully solved, the more times participants get registered to win prizes that include a grand prize of a staycation package that includes one night in a hotel and dinner.
It's a joint effort between downtown business Puzzled FM and the Downtown Community Partnership, said Events Coordinator Nicolette Berge. The goal was to come up with a new event that was both interactive and fun for people of all ages, she said.
It's also a new way to draw more people to downtown businesses and show off everything that's available in the growing neighborhood.
"My hope is that people are introduced to a store that they've never seen before, and the great thing about having this in those businesses is it gives the people working in the store a chance to interact with customers," Berge said.
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Erica Frank, manager of retail boutique Others, 18 8th St. S., said the bounty hunt will give people more fun things to do downtown.
"It introduces them to some businesses that they might not have been aware of," she said.
The operations manager of Drekker Brewing Co., 630 1st Ave. N., said despite the business being centrally located in downtown for more than two years, he still hears from customers coming in for the first time.
"It engages the community in a different way definitely to see stores that they might not otherwise put on their priority list," said Adam Schumacher. "That was the biggest thing for me, just to get new people in to expand their idea of what these downtown businesses can offer and what they're like on the inside."
Kay and Steven Cameron, the owners of Puzzled FM, said they hope the bounty hunt can become an annual event. While they're used to setting up interactive puzzles in the five spaces they lease in the Black Building, Steven Cameron said it's a chance to do a citywide project and reach new people.
He said participants can expect to find displays in the 13 participating businesses that feature wordplay, numbers or colors. Each puzzle is designed to take less than five minutes to solve, though there's no guarantee that everyone will find the right answer.
Kay Cameron said Puzzled FM has had groups of 11-year-olds solve its puzzles, but not everyone can complete the task.
"We've had other people, adults, not make it," she said. "It really depends on your logic set."
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Her advice? Pay attention to order, because order is always important in puzzles.
The Downtown Bounty Hunt is free and there's no purchase necessary to join in. To register, enter puzzle answers and get access to a map of participating businesses and hints for the puzzles, visit www.puzzledfm.com/hunt .
