Snag free gold at a scavenger hunt in Dallas on Saturday
Santa’s on his way, but so is Nic Cage … or, well, those who hope to recreate his National Treasure antics. What I’m saying is, there’s a scavenger hunt on Saturday at Klyde Warren Park. The clues are on Twitter, and the booty is gold. Kind of.
It’s put together by PaperGold, a company that sells actual gold that looks like a dollar bill. (Extended explanation: The foldable bill is “beautifully micro-printed” with “all the American symbols of power and wealth,” according to a press release.) If that confuses you, check out this video, if for nothing more than the sexy intonations of the extremely wealthy and powerful sounding narrator’s gravelly voice.
The PaperGold Holiday Gold Hunt takes place in 10 American cities, with three total hunts in each city. Dec. 6 is D-FW’s second hunt — the first was Nov. 22 at the Brickhouse Lounge in Arlington. Boom 94.5, which had just switched over to its phenomenal classic hip-hop format, did the live broadcast. The hunt entailed people digging through a massive pile of gold bars for envelopes containing PaperGold, according to publicist Kelsey Clark.
Saturday’s hunt at Klyde Warren Park is more scavenger style. Clues hit social media just before noon, and organizers will Tweet them about every 15 minutes until all of the envelopes are found. For clues, follow PaperGold Twitter and Facebook.
The hunt involves 10 envelopes; the final hunt on Dec. 13 (details TBA) involves 15. According to the official rules, each envelope contains about $20 worth of PaperGold. The estimated retail value of all the prizes over the course of the three hunts (including the past hunt on Nov. 22) is $1,160 per city, and $11,600 total.
To claim a prize, you must be at least 18 years old and a legal resident. So if your kid is some kind of GeoCaching savant, bring her along but be available to collect the spoils yourself.
If this seems like a lot of information, that’s nothing compared to the long, extremely legalistic official rules. Before participating, you should read them all. But, here are a few important highlights:
1. “If no one claims the Prize Envelopes within a reasonable time … Sponsors may elect not to award the Prize, to announce additional Clues, or to change the Location of the Prize.”
That’s straight up pirate talk, man! Don’t fret: Clark said the envelopes “won’t be incredibly difficult to find” and that she expects the entire hunt to be wrapped up in a couple of hours.
2. (A paraphrase): If two people show up at the same time, they can both claim it. The sponsor’s designated representative will do a random drawing.
3. “At the sole discretion of Sponsors, if a participant uses profanity, or demonstrates any lewd or sexually suggestive gestures or full or partial nudity, the Sponsors shall have the right to remove the individual from the Location and/or disqualify participant…”
So, you know. Keep your clothes on.
4. “Sponsors reserve the right to substitute a similar Prize (or Prize element) of comparable or greater value.”
What exactly is a “prize element”? Is that like a Boom 94.5 T-shirt made from Boron? Actually, as cool as Boom is right now, I’d take that.
Bottom line, the PaperGold Holiday Gold Hunt sounds like a lot of fun. Just keep an eye out for flags bearing skulls and crossbones.