Sign up to be on a hide team, a hunt team, or both

Last year, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the canceling of most of the traditional Parade of Nations activities, but the organizing committee was still looking for ways to keep the spirit of the event alive.

One of the volunteers, Will Schuette, had the idea for an informative scavenger hunt that would allow people to participate in small, socially responsible groups.

“I really liked that idea, and we went with it,” said Donna Cole, who is organizing the hunt this year.

Nine teams composed a series of three clues for hunt teams and members of the public to chase throughout the communities of Houghton and Hancock. One series of clues, from the Bangladeshi Student Association, helped tell the story of International Mother Language Day by requiring hunt teams to learn about the details leading up to its declaration by the United Nations and use those details to solve a puzzle. Cole said the organizers who hid the clues had to double-check with the student organization to make sure they hid them in the right spots.

“So that was the most elaborate of them,” she said. “And some of them were pretty easy to decipher.”

The City of Hancock created a hunt sequence that interwove with their Detroit Institute of the Arts “Inside/Out” displays.

Another, from the League of Women Voters, highlighted Vera Mize’s contributions to the community by leading people to the small park dedicated to her (which is now moved).

The Chinese Student Association had a clue that led to a big tree by Michigan Tech’s parking lot with a hole high in the trunk.

“So you had to be on a ladder or something so you could lean in and take a picture of the QR code,” Cole said.

Barbara Wheeler, on one of the hunt teams, had pictures of her children in the hole from when they were young.

“She knew right away about that hole,” Cole said.

This year the Parade of Nations itself is on, but the festival is still canceled. The parade route is slightly changed. The hunt is being maintained as another way for people to teach and learn about the culture, heritage, and traditions of the diverse people who live here.

People can participate on both a hunt and a hide team.

“The registration for both teams is the same,” Cole said. “If you want to do both, you just go back and do it a second time.”

Prize money is awarded for the first teams to complete all the hunts. Emails go out to registered hunt teams with the clues shortly before the clues are posted to the website for general public participation.

“So it gives the registered teams a little headstart,” Cole said. “If they’re watching their email.”

Clues are submitted to the organizers, who review them, create the laminated QR codes that link to the follow-up clues, and hide them in advance of the hunt, which launches on Sept. 7.

The deadline to submit clues and hiding places is Aug. 23.

The registration form, guidelines for participation, and other information can be found at the link below. Questions can be emailed to paradeofnations@mtu.edu.

Official Hunt Website

Photos provided by Donna Cole.