GLENDON - The newly formed Glendon Fire Arts Club (GFAC) is hosting another village wide scavenger hunt on April 26, where teams hunt for clues around the village to solve the mystery of who kidnapped “Mr. Richie”.
Olga Oszust, president of the GFAC, said participants are encouraged to dress like detectives on Saturday.
“It’s go-at-your-own-pace, so it typically starts around 10:30 a.m., but people can get there earlier or later. You get a start time, and you have [about] two hours to do the scavenger hunt. We will wait for all the teams to come in.”
Teams give themselves a team name and must stick together. They receive a notebook, a list of characters involved in the mystery, and locations for where they go to gather clues within the community.
Points are based on solving the mystery, the time it takes to solve the mystery, and how many clues a team gets.
“The best dressed will get a prize as well. We’ve always done that. Two years ago, we did an alien theme, and then another time it was tacky tourists. It’s just so fun.”
The Village of Glendon has sponsored the event, and prizes were sourced from the community, with many community members stepping forward to donate items.
Oszust explained the scavenger hunt's origins.
“Several of us were directors at the Glendon Ag Society, where the idea for the scavenger hunt originated. We started it back in 2021 during COVID. I came up with the idea of having a scavenger hunt outside, where families could form teams. It was a fun activity to support mental health, because people were so down. We wanted to bring some light back by doing something fun,” said Oszust.
Oszust explained that the Glendon Ag Society and the Village of Glendon sponsored the event, but last year Oszust was unable to organize it due to some personal commitments, and no one was able to pick it up.
“I was approached by the Village of Glendon, and they asked if I could run the scavenger hunt again. It's such a great promotion for the community and it’s a lot of fun. I said, ‘Sure I could do it this year’.”
Oszust spoke with the people who helped with the previous scavenger hunts, and they decided that they should form their own club to take on the scavenger hunt. The GFCA was born.
“We had our first meeting in February, and we weren’t sure what to call ourselves because our focus is on the scavenger hunt, but we also are going to be doing other events, and we want to come up with some other ideas for the community.”
Oszust said the fine arts programs at the schools are not what they used to be, and the GFAC wanted to be able to create more opportunities for the arts, especially for the youth.
“They used to have a drama club, and they would put on a dinner theatre. So, we wanted to make sure that the school was included in the GFAC. The kids that want to be in drama, will at least have an opportunity. Young and old will be able to participate in the club, and the school is interested in partnering.”
Anyone wanting to get involved with the scavenger hunt or the GFAC is encouraged to reach out to them.
