Grace the Giraffe has been skating around downtown Mansfield, and local businesses need your help catching her! The Downtown Mansfield Scavenger Hunt is taking place July 1 through August 3 this year, and Grace can be found in 32 business in the downtown area. Paper copies can be found at Main Street Books, The Little Buckeye Children’s Museum, Destination Mansfield, or the Richland Carrousel Park.
Once you have your map, visit as many of the marked sites as you can. Grace will be hiding somewhere in each business. Find her, and a staff member will sign or stamp the proper square on the back of your map.
If you find Grace 10 times, you can make your own giraffe-themed craft at Little Buckeye. If you find Grace 20 times, visit Main Street Books to sign up for the grand prize drawing— you’ll receive a coupon for a cone from The Chill Downtown Ice Cream, too! Roughly 200 participants entered the grand prize drawing last year.
If you find Grace all 32 times, Main Street Books will have a special reward waiting for you.
The grand prize drawing will take place at Grace’s Party on August 3 at 2:30 p.m. in the Carrousel Park. Enjoy cookies, juice, and carrousel rides as the prize winners are announced. You must have previously signed up and you must be present at the party to win.
The scavenger hunt offers fun for the whole family. Take a day, a weekend, or even the whole month of July to explore and rediscover all the shops and businesses in downtown Mansfield. “It definitely exposes people to new businesses and just to the good vibe we’ve got going on downtown,” said Llalan Fowler, manager of Main Street Books. “It’s just great to get new families down here looking around.”
The event is sponsored by Main Street Books and Little Buckeye Children’s Museum. You can download an online map and view a list of participating businesses here.
By Destination Mansfield – Richland County Journalism Intern, Amanda Ehrmantraut