BBQ Fest scavenger hunt aims to capitalize on Pokémon GO craze

Published 10:31 am Thursday, September 8, 2016

By KERRY STEINHOFER

kerry.steinhofer@amnews.com

The Convention and Visitors Bureau is sponsoring a scavenger hunt during the upcoming Kentucky State BBQ Festival,  which is a take-off on the popular game Pokémon GO.

“The BBQ committee, for a couple of years now, has talked about doing a scavenger hunt  and doing so in a way that it helps marketing for the festival,” said Jennifer Kirchner, director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau. “What we decided to do this year was to increase social media marketing during the event.”

The idea is to bring people into the downtown area near the festival and help them see more of what Danville has to offer, Kirchner said.

“Our downtown in Danville is what gives us character; it’s our identity, it’s what we like to show off,” she said.

The scavenger hunt features clues that incorporate the downtown and festival areas. This will allow people to explore more than just the festival space and learn about the history of Danville.

“We designed this in such a way where people will either have to ask somebody or at least know a little bit about our history and our heritage,” Kirchner said. “We want people to explore and shop and discover and have fun and put it all on social media while they are doing it.”

The game is to follow and figure out the clues while posting photos and videos to either Facebook or Twitter. Players are encouraged to use the hashtag #KYBBQGO on their social-media posts.

“Some of the clues, they’re not only to help people find different things, but also we want people to look at our historical markers downtown,” Kirchner said. “We really got to incorporate all of Danville’s unique characteristics and all the festival has to offer.”

For those who complete the challenge, there are prizes awarded to first and second places. The first-place winner will receive a $50 Visa gift card and the second place winner will receive a free lunch at Lucky Dog BBQ that can be redeemed on Sunday.

During the scavenger hunt, rules and clues will be posted on social media and there will be a welcome tent where information will also be given out about the scavenger hunt.

“This is the CVB approach to really do social media and capture some great pictures from the festival and people really enjoying downtown and all there is to offer,” Kirchner said.

IF YOU GO

Rules and clues for the #KYBBQGO competition will be available during the Kentucky State BBQ Festival on the Danville tourism Facebook page, www.facebook.com/DanvilleBoyleCountyCVB. Participants must make unique posts online for every scavenger hunt item they find and tag the CVB and BBQ Festival in every post. All posts by each participant must be made to only one platform — either Facebook or Twitter. All posts must include the hashtag #KYBBQGO. When a participant completes the hunt, they will be entered to win one of the prizes.