Downtown Bothell businesses to host scavenger hunt this weekend

By Stephi Smith

Reporter Contributor

Last summer, Annie Carl came up with the idea of a scavenger hunt that would involve downtown Bothell businesses. At the time, however, she was pregnant with her son and could not carry through her plan.

A year ago, Carl, who owns The Neverending Book Shop, shared her proposal with Sankara Imports owner Katrina Cohn and they began to iron out the details. Carl proposed the idea to the Bothell City Chamber of Commerce, very shyly she added, who were more than enthusiastic to assist.

And since then, businesses on Main Street and in downtown Bothell have been working together to plan and organize the Hidden Gems of Bothell Scavenger Hunt, which is set for Saturday.

There will be two events “conjoined,” according to Carl.

The first hunt will be a family event, from noon to 5 p.m.

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Cohn said there will be a pop-up tent set up on Main Street where people can check in and pick up a map for the hunt.

At each participating business, kids will receive a little treat and if hunters visit at least six of the businesses, they can turn their map back in at the check-in tent to be entered into a drawing for prizes.

The second scavenger hunt, from 6-9 p.m., will be for teams of 1-4 people, ages 21 and older. Carl felt there needed to be two events so businesses, such as the Hop and Hound and Rain City Wines, which are age-restricted, could be included as well.

Like with the first hunt, participants can check in at the pop-up tent on Main Street to receive their map.

Cohn said there will be activities at each location and participants can be entered into a drawing for prizes.

One activity, for example, is Carl holding book trivia at her shop.

“There’s been a lot of creativity going around now,” Carl said referring to the businesses conjuring up activities. She and Cohn are also assisting in helping others come up with activities.

The event organizers have put a lot of time into the hunts, having started last year, visiting other businesses in person to ask for their participation. Cohn visited her business neighbors and explained the plan for the hunt.

Their main goal is to include people in the local businesses.

Carl said she wanted to make sure this wasn’t just an event for her or Cohn’s store, but for the whole of downtown Bothell. For shops that don’t have a physical building or are located in a different area, there will be tents set up.

Carl said so far, the businesses she and Cohn have spoken to are really excited, showing their support and advertising as much as possible.

She said she wants it to be as engaging as possible and “show people how cool Bothell is.” Also, she hopes to attract a younger crowd, especially with the 21 and older event. For that, teams are encouraged to dress up as adventurers and come up with team names. Also, nobody is required to formally sign up as this is the first year so Carl and Cohn don’t know how many people will attend.

One of the reasons for the scavenger hunt, Carl said, is to “lure” people to downtown Bothell, since it feels like not many people want to visit with all of the major construction.

Construction began on Main Street in April, while work on nearby apartments started a few months earlier and construction on Bothell Way Northeast has been going on for more than two years.

“The construction has been a bit of a downer,” Carl said.

After Main Street was torn up, she said a lot of area businesses felt discouraged. Street parking has been unavailable and it can be difficult to navigate around the streets, especially by car.

While it can be discouraging at times, Cohn said they hope the scavenger hunt will be an annual event as the businesses on Main Street are working to create a community and bring people together to the heart of Bothell.

This weekend’s hunt is not the first event business owners have held. Carl explained that there had been others in the past with low attendance, which was discouraging. So trying to get people involved with what they may feel as just another forced event can be difficult.

However, Carl said she has only seen excitement from others and this is certainly not something to view as negative.

“I’m trying to put a positive spin on that because I don’t want it to sound negative, it’s not negative,” she explained.

This scavenger hunt is something to get both customers and local business owners excited about visiting Bothell.

“This sounds like a lot of fun, I’m super excited,” she said.

Here is a list of businesses participating in the scavenger hunts:

  • The Den Coffeeshop
  • Zulu’s Boardgame Cafe
  • Vitality Specific Chiropractic
  • Leela Yoga
  • Se-Lyn Boutique & Crystal Shoppe
  • Level 7 Salon
  • Harmony Massage & Boutique
  • Alligator Purse
  • The Hop & Hound
  • Social Grounds Coffee & Tea Co.
  • Revolve Wine Bar
  • Woodlawn Optical
  • Three Lions Bothell
  • Sankara Imports
  • The Neverending Bookshop

For more information, visit the hunts’ Facebook pages here and here.

Stephi Smith is a 2017 Mountlake Terrace High School graduate and aspiring journalist. She will attend the University of Missouri this fall, where she plans to major in print and digital journalism and minor in Spanish.