Fremonsters, assemble your teams! Hunt the Universe, a free all-day scavenger hunt, takes over the Center of the Universe on Saturday, Oct. 10.
Teams of five to 10 will have 12 hours to work through about 100 clues scattered across Fremont. According to the event website, clues involve solving puzzles, making absurd things, digging into neighborhood history, exploring nooks and crannies, and giving back to the community.
Hunt Masters will judge submissions after the event, and top teams will win prizes.
The hunt is the brainchild of Luke Greenway, who caught the scavenger hunt bug during college. He also co-created Emerald City Improv, a group of about 1,000 people that staged playful happenings around Seattle.
He said he has long been interested in how people use public spaces in playful ways. Scavenger hunts are a sweet spot between creative play and connecting with a place.
“I think this one is going to be well tailored to the wonderful weirdness of Fremont,” he said.
Organizers compare the hunt to the British comedy show “Taskmaster” and the University of Chicago’s long-running Scav Hunt. Many clues aren’t a list of items to find. They’re open-ended prompts.
“It’s totally up to you how you’re going to solve that and what you’re going to do,” Greenway said.
Don’t expect to finish. “It’s going to be more than you can possibly do during the day,” he said. Teams can tackle as many clues as they can or pick a few and go deep.
Greenway recommends five to 10 people per team, but teammates don’t have to stick together all day. Members can split up and regroup, or “hole up in a coffee shop somewhere or at someone’s house and make that home base and do little expeditions as they wish,” he said.
Solo hunters and small groups can register to be matched with a team.
The rules are short: Be safe, don’t break the law, don’t be a jerk, and have fun. The event is designed for adults but suitable for all ages.
Check-in begins at 8 a.m. at the Lenin Statue, 3526 Fremont Pl. N. Clues release at 9 a.m. Teams submit their answers as a slideshow by 9 p.m. followed by a mixer at Fremont Social.
An awards gala is tentatively planned for the evening of Wednesday, Oct. 21, at a venue to be announced.
Register at hunttheuniverse.com/register. Questions can go to HuntTheUniverse@gmail.com.
Disclosure: Fremont Neighbor publisher Aly Teeter has volunteered with Hunt the Universe’s planning as a Fremont Neighborhood Council member, and Fremont Neighbor is listed as a supporting partner of the event.
Leave a Reply