Kara Burton, executive director of Osoyoos Museum, says the car-rally event will be both fun and informative. (Richard McGuire file photo)

The Osoyoos Museum is planning a car-rally-type event to help people learn about Osoyoos and have fun at the same time.

The “Great Osoyoos Day of Adventure!” is planned for Sunday, June 11, but participants must pre-register and spaces are going quickly, said Kara Burton, executive director of Osoyoos and District Museum and Archives.

People will definitely learn about Osoyoos and possibly see things they’ve never seen before, said Burton, adding that it’s a family event suitable for all ages.

At the beginning, participants will be given a written poem containing all the clues along with questions for them to answer.

It will be challenging enough to engage the adults, but there will also be a scavenger hunt to keep the children entertained when they aren’t helping the adults with the clues.

“We’ve set it up so that we encourage families,” said Burton. “Definitely we need two adults in a vehicle, or an adult driving and an older student who can read and decipher clues. We want the driver to be pretty dedicated to driving, so we’re recommending two adults in the vehicle. Then the kids would definitely have fun helping out and finding the answers.”

The questions, some cryptic, cover a wide range, said Burton.

“It’s quite a mix actually,” she said. “It’s historical questions, there are environmental questions and there are some that are just silly and fun and just nonsense. It’s a good mix of history to local knowledge.”

Without giving away secrets, Burton said it could include things like the number of fruit stands on a particular stretch of highway or the contact phone number on a particular sign.

The teams, which are encouraged to give themselves names and have a team spirit, will leave the museum at staggered times starting at 1 p.m.

“We’re thinking hopefully three to five minutes between each team leaving here so they’re not too bunched up along the route,” said Burton. “We want them to actually have to figure things out for themselves.”

The whole course takes roughly two hours and at the end there will be a family-style barbecue with entertainment, games and prizes.

Osoyoos Home Hardware is sponsoring the main prizes, which are a $300 shopping spree at their store for the first-place winner, a $200 spree for the second-place winner and a $100 spree for the third place winner.

Burton said winners will be chosen primarily on their ability to answer the questions, and timing would only be considered to break a tie.

“We don’t want people to rush through it,” she said. “Of course being a driving thing, we don’t want people driving too crazy on the road. So timing will be secondary.”

Burton said this is the first time the museum has held this type of event. The idea came from a new volunteer, Roger Taylor, who has done it in the past elsewhere, she said.

The course is largely in Osoyoos, but it does go into the surrounding rural areas and people definitely need a vehicle, Burton said.

“The museum wants to get into the community more,” said Burton. “We feel this is a good way that we can provide a service to the community without people always having to come to the museum – teaching them a little more in the community.”

Registration is $30 per team.

For more information or to register, visit OsoyoosMuseum.ca or contact Kara Burton at [email protected] or 250-495-2582.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times