2009 Allison Wonderland Mock Hunt
Kickoff Party
Fabulous Fern's
Sunday, March 1, 2009
In the bar area
400 Selby Avenue
St. Paul, MN 55102
(651) 225-9414
Here we are with the Medallion hunt behind us. No longer is there a Bock hunt coming up (Medallion and bOCK = MOCK in case you weren't aware). Still this can hardly be considered the inbetween period any more as the Mock Hunt has developed a tradition of its own with this being the 10th year that I have had one. This year we'll be starting on Sunday, March 1st.
The Mock Hunt is patterned after the Winter Carnival Treasure Hunt and is very similar with just a few exceptions. For one, it will be in a park in St. Paul. Secondly, the clues are released at 7pm. Third, the prize is a lot smaller and will be given to the person who finds it, no matter how long it takes. Otherwise, as expected, there will be 12 clues, released once a day. You're looking for a medallion the same size as the one used by the Pioneer Press. It won't be hidden on private property, out on a body of ice or water, on the side of a cliff, on top of a building, inside of anything you need to break to look into, or anywhere else that would cause a reasonable person to ask if they should really be looking there. Nor will it be found in any of the places forbidden in the Winter Carnival hunt.
As for the prize, it will be determined by how many hunters we have. If you wish to be a registered hunter, it will cost $10 and if you find it, you will get all the money that has been collected which typically has been between $200 and $500. If you wish, you can also hunt for free as an unregistered hunter and if you find it in that case, you get $100 and the rest of the money will go towards another hunt's prize. You have until the release of the 4th clue to register. You can register by sending me a check (email me for an address to send it to), by PayPal (use this email address), or you can give it to me in person if you go to our kickoff event at Fabulous Fern's on Sunday March 1st starting at 6pm.
The park has been chosen and the clues are being written. I'm anticipating this hunt will be an interesting one. I'm not going to hide it *too* well this year so the prize may indeed go to the first person to figure out the clues properly.
Allison Wonderland
During the 1990’s, the St Paul Pioneer Press opened online discussion forums. These forums were called Water Coolers. The forums had discussion topics related to sports, politics, news, and current events. Each year, the Pioneer Planet – the online section of the Pioneer Press – opened a discussion forum as a media for hunters to discuss the clues for the Winter Carnival Medallion Hunt.
During the earlier years, one might find a few hundred posts during the hunt. As more hunters had computers, those numbers jumped. From 1997 to 1998, the number of posts increased from the hundreds to the 5-digit thousands. It was during the 1998 hunt the Cooler Crew was born.
The community spirit and teamwork displayed in the Pioneer Press Medallion Hunt thread was inspiring. The group of hunters found themselves at the end of a hunt not wanting to let go of new friendships and the camaraderie found on the Water Cooler board. The idea emerged to do what anyone would do in the middle of winter in Minnesota. A picnic in Cherokee was planned - the first Rehash Bash!
