Peterborough DBIA’s Golden Goose Chase Winner Catches $1,500 in Boro Gift Cards

The Peterborough Downtown Business Improvement Area (DBIA) congratulates winner Susan Donald who took home $1,500 in Boro gift cards from the Golden Goose Chase Scavenger Hunt.

Donald, the winner, photographed at Bhojan Grocery - a new Indian grocery store located on George Street.  photo courtesy of the peterborough dbia.

This spring, the DBIA led a brand new downtown retail incentive program which took locals on a “wild goose chase” in search of golden eggs for a chance to win a $1,500 Boro gift card shopping spree.

The focus of this initiative was on bringing the magic and excitement back into in-person shopping experiences. 200 participants joined the hunt with over 100 active scavenger hunters.

“I love supporting small businesses and shopping locally because you’re supporting families above all else. You get to know the people who you’re buying from, which is so much more meaningful than buying from large corporations,” says Donald.

Many participating businesses noticed an increase of foot traffic to the downtown retail shops as locals explored the downtown in search of golden eggs. 

“We had one group of friends come into our store, a couple of whom had just moved here from Toronto. They had learned about the scavenger hunt and told us they were visiting about six different stores looking for the golden eggs, making purchases along the way as they discovered businesses,” says Andrew Damiany, owner of Gentry Apparel. 

Throughout the program, golden eggs were strategically hidden inside a variety of downtown retail locations on a rotating schedule. This whimsical downtown scavenger hunt utilized a mobile app called Goosechase, where participating players would take an image of each individual egg they found to increase their number of entries into the draw. All 20 eggs were hand-painted by local artists with each egg showcasing their own unique style. 

“It’s been really nice to see people getting excited for the summer and also getting out to explore small businesses and local retailers while having fun in the process,” says Bhojan co-owner Aniket Khera.

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PTBOPics & Coverage: Bears' Lair 2013 At Market Hall

The four Bears' Lair finalists faced the Bears last night (April 23rd) at Market Hall. The Bears consisted of Carlos Oliveira from Operitel Corporation; Mike Selby, a small business advisor for TD Canada Trust; and Erica Cherney of Cherney Realty.

The entrants were...

—Natasha Roulston of Creative Legacy, who creates video biographies so that future generations can learn more about members of their family who may have passed away and the stories they would like to share.

—Calista Stephens, who is the owner and operator of The First Element Day Spa in Harwood, Ontario, which focuses on natural healing and relaxation.

—Dave and Vicky Kilner of Nature's Listen Inn, a bird feeder that wirelessly sends the sounds of the birds at the feeder to a speaker in your home.

—Janet Howes from The Work of Art, which is a unique art package that includes art and art supplies for people who have dementia.

Each contestant had 15 minutes to make their pitch, as monitored by MC Mike Melnik.

While the Bears went back to their lair to determine the winner, guest speaker Rick Spence dispensed great advice, including that the customer dictates the product, make sure to hire and keep the right people, and find your correct pricing.

When the Bears came back after looking over each contestant's business plan, they announced that Janet Howes from The Work of Art had won. Janet wins a prize package of cash and business services to help her get her business off and running.

The event was organized by Workplace Development Board and co-chaired by Amy Simpson, & Sofie Andreou. You can follow Bears' Lair on Facebook and Twitter.

[Contributed by PtboCanada's Evan Holt]

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