Volunteers are putting the final touches on the details for this year’s Ashcroft Easter treasure hunt, which is back for the third year and promises to be an eggs-ellent time for everyone.
The first hunt was in 2020, shortly after most activities shut down because of COVID-19, and was designed to be a safe, family-friendly event that people could take part in in small family groups. It was so popular that it returned in 2021, and now looks set to become an annual Ashcroft tradition.
The event is organized and sponsored by the Family Friends group, with support from the South Cariboo Elizabeth Fry Society, Interior Savings Credit Union, and the Village of Ashcroft. Organizer Joyce Buckland says that after they put out a call for properties willing to take part in this year’s event, they received a lot of phone calls and messages.
“In the next couple of days we’ll have all the properties organized and will get the entry forms made up,” she says. “The format will be the same as last year; there aren’t many changes.”
Thirty properties — 10 each in downtown Ashcroft, North Ashcroft, and the Mesa — will be decorated in a variety of themes. Starting on Wednesday, March 30, participants can pick up entry forms from boxes outside the Ashcroft HUB on Hill Street and the Journal office on 4th Street, or print a copy off from the Ashcroft Hub Facebook page. All of the clues — as well as the event’s rules — will be listed on the forms, and starting April 1 participants can make their way around Ashcroft at their own speed and fill out the answers.
Even though there are 30 properties taking part, Buckland says participants only have to find 10 in order to qualify. “If you live in North Ashcroft and don’t have a car, you can still get 10 properties.” However, she adds that about 90 per cent of the people who took part last year identified all 30 properties.
Participants have until noon on Monday, April 11 to deposit their completed forms in the locked box outside the Journal office. Buckland says that every family or adult entry will get a prize, which can be picked up from the Ashcroft Seniors’ Centre (601 Bancroft Street) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 14 and 15. First prize is a large Easter basket full of goodies, including a family pass for the Ashcroft pool good for the 2022 season.
”Everybody’s excited about it,” says Buckland of this year’s event.
“Phyllis [Rainey] posted something and there were tons of comments, people saying ‘The kids were just asking if we were doing it again.’
“We’re holding it over two weekends again so people can spread it out. The weather looks as if it’ll be nice, so it should be good.”
editorial@accjournal.ca
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