Cars were lined up at the museum last year as participants waited to depart on the “Great Osoyoos Day of Adventure!” organized by Osoyoos and District Museum and Archives. Last year all 20 openings were filled, but this year it’s been expanded to 60. (File photo)
Teams are gearing up for the second annual “Great Osoyoos Day of Adventure!” an educational car rally, trivia game and fundraiser for the Osoyoos and District Museum and Archives.
The event takes place Sunday, June 10.
Last year all 20 openings for teams filled up, so this year’s event is being expanded to a maximum of 60 teams, said Kara Burton, executive director of the museum.
“We’ve got a completely different route planned out,” said Burton. “So it’s going to be bigger and better.”
The event is intended to be family friendly with scavenger hunts for children and a barbecue at the end. Last year, however, Burton said only one team had youngsters, and that team wasn’t able to complete the course.
Participants receive a list of clues written in the form of a poem at the start of the rally. Cars leave at staggered times.
“Last year there were I believe about 53 questions,” said Burton. “So it takes a couple of hours, but it’s a lot of fun.”
Teams require at least two adults or an adult and a mature youth – one to drive and one to navigate.
“You don’t want the driver to also be the navigator,” said Burton. “Most of our teams last year were just teams of adults, which we didn’t expect, but they had a blast.”
Some adults even collected the children’s scavenger hunt items, which might include finding a flower or an item with a hole in it.
“They all came back with a bag full of things they had found,” said Burton. “We put [the scavenger hunt] together expecting that it would be something for the kids to do while the adults were looking for and trying to figure out the answers.”
Some of the teams also got lost in last year’s event.
“We know a few stopped along the way because, of course, last year the route went by a few wineries and a cidery,” said Burton. “We had reports about one team from the other teams saying, ‘yes, we saw them going back and forth and we knew they were lost. We already had our answer, so we jumped past them.’”
In the rally, the clues and the locations they point to include a mix of history and local knowledge, as well as some fun items.
“It really depends on where the route goes, but we try to throw in something historical – it is the museum after all – but it’s more just about having a fun day,” said Burton.
People usually have to record some information at the location, which proves they found it.
“We know how long it should take, so if anyone is incredibly early coming back, then we know they skipped some things,” she said. “If they skip a section, and they don’t have the answers correct, then they don’t get the marks for it.”
Teams are scored on accuracy, with speed only used to break a tie so that speeding isn’t encouraged.
Once again, Osoyoos Home Hardware is the main sponsor, said Burton, and the first, second and third prizes are shopping sprees at the store of $350, $250 and $150 respectively.
Other businesses have donated door prizes.
“Last year we had prizes for the slowest team and that type of thing,” said Burton. “And a compass for the team that got lost. Silly little prizes too. We try to have some fun with it.”
This year the barbecue will be catered by Troy’s Grill, she said, and Adega on 45th will be there serving wine by the glass.
“We’ve kicked it up a notch,” she said. “So we needed to have the price reflect that too, to cover the expense.”
This year the cost is $25 per person instead of a flat price per team like last year.
People can register at the museum and Burton said she hopes an online registration will also be available.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
