We had some last minute panic. What if it snowed? What if no-one turned up? How would we stop people filling in all the answers in a bar without setting foot on the streets? And where would we find a poison bottle?
Poison Bottle picture courtesy Team Black Eyed Pandas
No need to panic. By 2pm on Saturday the sun is shining and the CCA Terrace Bar is crammed with people getting ready for our very first interactive Cinema City Treasure Hunt; team names and mobile phones at the ready. There’s some Googling in the bar but we have a cunning plan to make sure our treasure hunters go looking for clues hidden along the route. And, yes, Granny’s medicine cupboard has produced a fine poison bottle which is part of that plan.
We thought our quiz master Austin Yuill had come up with some inspired ideas for tasks which had to be unearthed and carried out on site: particularly Task No 8
Around about Madeleine Smith’s old home find the “murder weapon” and take a photograph with it
We had added photographic tasks, you see, at each of the 11 stopping points on our trail to make sure people actually visited all the old cinemas and film location sites on the route (there are such amazing stories to tell about each one!). But we were not prepared for the equally inspired replies which came flooding back from each team by email and Twitter.
Richard of Team R&R
While Austin placed himself by a window in the conveniently located Blythswood Hotel, our treasure hunters scoured the city centre coming up with ever more imaginative responses to the tasks they were given: find the icon, be a star, visualise the height of Cineworld, find that out-of-place book with the hidden clue for a bonus point, locate the murder weapon…
“The Waterstone’s question task was so funny….” reports Richard from Team R&R in an email giving great feedback after the event. “We arrived with few people from the hunt visible, within minutes you’d have thought a busload of ‘tourists’ had arrived… furtively scanning shelves… when we spotted the book and then the clue LOL brilliant.”
The clue was to recreate and photograph the La Scala High Tea experience (aka have a cuppa in Costa beside the travel section in Waterstone’s now occupying the site of that old Sauchiehall Street cinema).
Team Dobson’s Choice at HighTea in ‘La Scala’ aka Costa
Imaginations began to run wild and photographs became more adventurous and by the time teams reached Blythswood Square, they had thrown caution (but Granny is glad to note, not the bottle!) to the wind.
Not a drop spilled by Team Brown
Almost a week later we are still reeling from the fabulous creative contributions of all the teams, not least the ‘film props’ brought back to the bar – and we’re delighted to hear a nearby charity shop benefited from some ingenious interpretations of the task.
So a huge thank you to everyone involved in bringing to life our first interactive treasure hunt – a collaborative experiment by Walking Heads and Glasgow Film Festival with great help from Gordon Barr and Austin Yuill. Special thanks for generous support and prizes from Waterstone’s, Dewar’s Whisky, Gillian Kyle, Tommy Perman and Scottish Fine Soaps. And more thanks for fantastic team work from volunteers and staff of Glasgow Film Festival, Inner Ear and Walking Heads. And great service from the CCA Terrace and Saramago Bar.
And most of all thanks to the 23 teams who took part with such great enthusiasm and good nature. We’ve said it before but it’s worth repeating. You are all stars!
PS Stay tuned for the Treasure Hunt Gallery, keep your photos and feedback coming, we’re looking forward to the next event and hope you will join us again.
Terrazo stars: Team Pen15
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