It was a cold, grey, and rainy April morning for some, but for the neighborhood of New Brighton, Calgary, it was a morning of laughs, racing, and treasure hunting.
On April second TriXtan Entertainment hosted a pirate themed treasure hunt, and though we did not get “pirate weather” for the event, we were thrilled to see such an incredible turnout.
The idea for the hunt began only a week prior to the day of the event, a mere idea to host a fun family activity for people in the area.
Before we knew it clue ideas were being bounced around the office and small business owners from all around the New Brighton community were donating prizes for the winners.
In only a few short days New Brighton was buzzing with excitement and anticipation of finding the pirates lost treasures.
Over $600 worth of prizes were brought together and the TriXtan team could not wait to see their idea become reality.
However, that is not to suggest that we did not run into some minor struggles along the way.
Our dear friend Rexi Rex was so excited to get out and start promoting the event to our neighbors, but his excitement was overcast by a group of young children who thought it was appropriate to throw rocks, punch, kick, and call him names.
Non-the-less, Rexi knew the event had to go on!
After receiving some very kind and inspiring words online, he bravely made the decision to come out of hiding to shoot an epic commercial showing participant’s how to prep for the 5K hunt.
It seemed that the event was working up to be something amazing, but the TriXtan Team was dishearted to wake up on event day to snow and chilling rain.
Unsure of how many people would be willing to brave the cold, we were thrilled to arrive at the park and greet a crowd of hunters, young and old.
With their eyes on the prize, the teams took off running after hearing the first clue, eager to get to the next before the others.
Following that, the TriXtan Team spent the day chasing after those competitors in the lead. Racing to keep up to get video footage of the event, Tristan and Aaron were shocked at how quickly teams were figuring out the clues.
Originally having given the hunters until 5:00 p.m. to complete the hunt, imagine our surprise when the top three prizes were claimed less than one hour into the event!
The TriXtan team ran back home to prep the prizes, compiling the top three prize packages as well as a TON of cotton candy for all those who participated.
At 2:00 p.m. the pirate joined the hunters at the location of the first clue, a local playground, to announce the winners and hand out the prizes.
This is the moment that made all the planning and late night clue hiding worth it. Seeing the community brought together for a family oriented Sunday morning was beautiful.
Neighbors were becoming friends, children were giggling and playing at the park. Not to mention the ear to ear smiles on everyone’s faces as they were handed a bag of deliciously sweet candy floss.