Are those 2 guys twins?
Kickstart
I've always been curious about the funding model for this search. Originally it was put on by The Seattle Times and the University of Washington, along with a rotating non-profit (The Seattle Art Museum, The Woodland Park Zoo, etc.). But both of the original major sponsors have been having funding problems in recent years (if you hadn't noticed), so it eventually passed to One Reel, who puts on Bumbershoot and other events. This is advantageous in two ways: First, of course, they know how to put on events. Second, they know a lot of people who can donate cool prizes. But it's difficult to see how they could be making enough money on the proposition to warrant the expenses they surely incur.After the first of two projected Emerald City Searches in 2012, they apparently came to the same realization, and scrapped the second Search (which was to take place on the 50th anniversary of the end of the 1962 World's Fair). Thankfully, instead of just letting it die, the decided to try to raise the necessary funds using the current fundraising mechanism of today, Kickstarter. Take a look at their project page (which features my unkempt mug not once, but twice --- while searching for the medallion I usually let minor grooming tasks like shaves and haircuts slide). If you like the Search and want to see it go on, you should pledge something. If they don't make their ambitious goal, you get your money back, and if you pledge more than $10, you get a perk of some sort. I really like Bumbershoot, and I found the best part of a platinum pass was the access to the VIP lounge, so I particularly like the $200 level. But go ahead and pledge $5000 and get your band on stage at Bumbershoot if that's your thing.
Once again, their project page is here.
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| It's my year! |
Upcoming and ongoing
Speaking of Kickstarter, if you like puzzles, you can sign up for a year of them (this project has been funded, so it will occur and they will take your money).
Speaking of Canlis contests...wait, no one is actually speaking about Canlis contests. But they hid a menu back on their birthday in December, and no one's found it yet. Want more details? There aren't any. Maybe there's a clue on their website. Or maybe you have to bribe Brian Canlis with some good scotch. Very good scotch.
- Chinatown/International District Lunar New Year Scavenger Hunt - now through February 9. A fairly easy family-friendly stroll around the ID looking for fortune cookies that yield a final puzzle. Solve the puzzle and you get to enter a random drawing at the Lunar New Year Festival on February 9.
- WIOL/Winter O #7 - February 2, Fire Mountain Scout Camp (up by Mt Vernon). The course setter says if you're doing the more advanced courses in shorts, expect to bleed. And regardless of what you wear, expect your shoes and socks to be wet when you finish. Prove him wrong by doing it barefoot.
- Puzzled Pint - February 12, ???. Meet at a local pub to do puzzles on teams. Which pub? Well, there's a puzzle you have to solve to find out, released the previous day (if you can't figure out what day that is, you probably shouldn't come). Repeats every 2nd Tuesday of the months at different locations.
- WIOl/Winter O #8 - February 16, Lincoln Tree Farm, Spanaway. Other than the fact that there will be trees, I have no idea what to expect here. But neither will any of the other competitors, since this is a completely new venue for the Cascade Orienteering Club.
- Ultimate Orienteer #1 - February 23, Woodland Park. Winter orienteering is over. Summer orienteering is starting. Don't be put off by the title; you're just running around in Woodland Park (the part that doesn't require an admission fee).
Starting up in March: Street Scrambles and First Thursday Adventure Runs (Green Lake).
