11/30/2009 - THE ANNUAL HERALD HUNT WRAPUP!
Good evening, everyone!
Thank you for being so patient while I put everything together. It certainly was a fun Hunt, and there's lots to go over, so let's get to it!
Now then...this was an easier Hunt. After last year's difficulties where the Hunt seemed to stretch on forever, Dave and Tom wanted to make things a bit easier for everyone involved. And it may have been a touch too easy.
I was NOT competing this year (as I had previously stated here), so my perspective this year is a bit different. I was focuses on covering the Hunt, but did not know any details about the puzzles, etc. So I was coming at this whole thing fresh, but at the same time I was not applying all my mental faculties to solving the puzzles. I wanted to note that because some of my editorials below will be based on observations that you fed back to me.
With that said, now let's get to the details!
ME AND THE MAP...AGAIN!
A BIG thank you to Otis Sweat and the Herald and...YOU! You all keep coming to the Hunt, which keeps me doing what I can do to promote it, and if it wasn't for this weird feedback loop, I would never have been able to get onto the map...so...THANK YOU, EVERYONE! 8)
THE HUNT DATE AND THE WEATHER
The weather could not have been more perfect. Well, in my book, it COULD have been a few degrees cooler, but I won't knock it! The choice of the date was interesting, and I approached it with some caution when it was conveyed to me. Thanksgiving weekend? Dolphins football? Holiday shopping? Can/will the Hunt draw a crowd then? Well, it looks like it did! Many out-of-towners provided feedback to me (you know who you are) about how much the choice for the date was a bad idea. That being the case, it may have been bad for you...but it wasn't for most locals! Also, at the end a long holiday weekend, folks were looking for something else to do other than eat and shop...and the Hunt was a great way to cap it off!
PUZZLES, PHOTOS AND VIDEOS ARE UP!
Your 2009 Herald Hunt details are up now! These photos are mine for now; if you have your own pictures or video, please LET ME KNOW, because I will want it for the Archives! (NOTE: If the shots are duplicates/similar to ones I already have on the site, I may not put them up,but send them anyway, in case they're better!)
HUNT NEWS STORIES
- The Miami Herald has its wrap up, and a video as well.
- CBS4 has their wrap up, featuring the Weapons of Mass Confusion!.
SPECIAL THANKS
I (well, not just me, but you, too!) need to thank the following people from the Miami Herald (in no particular order):
ELAINE
TOM
MARIE
ANGIE
JUDI
DAVE
CHRISTINA
AND EVERYONE ELSE WHO PUT ALL THE TIME, PLANNING AND CREATIVITY INTO THE HUNT!
AND, OF COURSE, A GREAT BIG THANK YOU, TO THE HUNT VOLUNTEERS, SOME OF WHOM I'VE SEEN AT MULTIPLE HUNTS (INCLUDING DAVE'S BLOGITS)! :)
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNERS!
Congratulations to the local Streit Brothers, clearly establishing their Hunt veteran status as they have won several Hunts! Also big congratulations to the Ross family, who have been trying for many years to win the Hunt and finally succeeded! Alas, I don't have the third place winners names, but congratulations as well!
THE HUNT PUZZLE BREAKDOWN/REVIEW
In my continuing tradition, I offer the following review/thoughts on the 2009 Herald Hunt:
- VENUE: Adrienne Arsht Center area: A smaller Hunt area overall, but accessible via mass transit and car, and easy to walk through. Being next to the Herald building was also a nice touch, since they've been great at holding the event year after year!
- DIFFICULTY: Easy. Seemingly easier than the 1994 Tropic Hunt, but not as easy as the 2004 Herald Hunt. I would place this one as second easiest overall.
- MY PUZZLE-BY-PUZZLE ANALYSIS:
THE PLAY: For me, this was the toughest puzzle. We were trying to keep the characters names straight, and it didn't help that a Arsht Center usher said, after we saw the play the first time, "Oh, that was the first time they switched the bodies!" Grrrr....
THE CAROL: I believe this was the easiest puzzle of all. All it took was observation to notice what was different as the song was being sung.
THE BRACELET: This one tripped us up, and we did get some help from others, but we were on the right track. We knew wearing the band on your wrist was wrong, but we were too busy walking about to really put our minds down to it.
THE BALCONY: This puzzle proved that going over the Hunt section is CRITICAL...if you didn't, you'd be lost.
THE SODUKU PUZZLE: Second easiest puzzle (I love soduku), but could have been first, if you didn't have to walk to the corners of the map to solve it...
THE FINAL PUZZLE: Okay, there's controversy here. First off, the general consensus was that the final clue/end game was easy. I wasn't trying, but based on the reports of everyone running to the location, and apparently pushing/shoving to the point it got dangerous...this sounds like it was another Barnacle situation (see the 1994 Tropic Hunt). Some teams got there early, and for various reasons. Some got there because they deduced it from the final clue ("Look down at them" What do you look down at? Your feet!) and others because of Hunt volunteers in purple shirts standing in an area where no puzzle was located. In my opinion, what should have happened was that no identifiable volunteers should have been there. If that were the case, the area may have gone unnoticed until the correct time. As it was...it apparently became potentially dangerous.
MY ONGOING RECOMMENDATIONS...
1) Can the Hunt be held in the spring (February/March time frame)? It's likely to be cooler, and there's no sporting events to try to schedule the Hunt around. (Not everyone may know that the Hunt is scheduled...as best as possible...around Dolphin games that are here in South Florida).
2009 Update: Hey, Thanksgiving weekend was nice...
2) Can out-of-towners be banned from winning?
3) Please?
2009 Update: HAHAHA! THREE years in a row!
4) Can we have more 'original' content as part of the Hunt special section? This goes back to the original Tropic Magazine...it was nice to have the Hunt incorporate the actual articles (not always ads) from Tropic, such that you really had to review/research beforehand...and it allowed more flexibility in the final puzzles...(I really miss Tropic Magazine!)
2009 Update: Echoing years past: BRING BACK TROPIC! BRING BACK TROPIC! Barring that, put some extra stuff in the Hunt section!
5) On a marketing note: I'd love to be able to buy a small poster of Otis Sweat's great work with the Hunt maps! If they could be reprinted on glossy/poster paper and sold at the Hunt for like $3 each...I think the Herald would be pleasantly surprised at how many would be sold! Otis' wonderful work is always something I look forward to...and he really knows how to capture the spirit and fun that comprises a Hunt in his maps!
2009 Update: Still no map for sale! People keep asking for it...please find a way to make this happen!
IN CONCLUSION
Last but NOT least, I continue to thank YOU, my visitors! This year, I have even more people came up to me and said 'hi', and almost all of you congratulated me for getting onto the map, thanked me for the site, etc. It's always fun to meet everyone, and I genuinely appreciated it! Also, thanks to everyone who came out to the Pre-Hunt Gathering on Saturday night! We had a blast at the Pub, and it was a great way to relax with friends before the Hunt.
While I work on this site, we all need to work to ensure that we keep the Hunts going in the future! Please, do everything you can to make that a reality: write a letter to the Herald editors thanking them, tell the sponsors thank you AND give them business if you can, and buy your Hunt shirts each year! This level of strong interest contributes to making the Hunt an ongoing community event, and keeps us having fun each year after year.
KEEP CHECKING BACK FOR MORE UPDATES! AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE POST HUNT NEXT YEAR IN JUNE (THE DATE IS TENTATIVE, STAY TUNED HERE FOR CONFIRMATION!)!
11/28/2009 - T-1 DAY! TOMORROW IS IT! GET YOUR PAPER NOW! THE MEGA UPDATE!
Hi, everyone!
I hope you've been having a wonderful holiday weekend! The South Florida weather has been fantastic, and between today and tomorrow, it's going to be a great
Hunt weekend! There's lots to cover, so let's get started!
GET YOUR HERALD HUNT SECTION NOW!
Okay, this is going to be really confusing and conflict with what I have told you, but I was passing along information given to me. Apparently there IS an
early Sunday edition of the Herald, and it's out NOW. I found copies widely available at Publix, CVS, even a newspaper stand, at 10am this morning! Go get
your section NOW!
YES, I'M ON THE MAP AGAIN!
To Otis Sweat, and everyone at the Herald: Thank you! 8)
I'm at coordinates F1, a happy, jolly blue/purple elf, as shown below:
Cute, eh?
YOUR HUNT WEATHER UPDATE!
The weather has been BEAUTIFUL. The Hunt Gods (Dave and Tom) are smiling on us. The semi-official hour-by-hour Hunt weather forecast currently is:
12:00pm - 77 degrees - 10% chance of rain
1:00pm - 77 degrees - 10% chance of rain
2:00pm - 77 degrees - 0% chance of rain
3:00pm - 77 degrees - 0% chance of rain
4:00pm - 76 degrees - 0% chance of rain
Honestly, it can't get more perfect than that! Bring your sunblock!
WHAT TO BRING
Here's our recommendations on what you should bring:
- You and your Hunt team
- Cell phone (one per team member is best)
- Notepad
- Some form of sanity (to weed out the valid from invalid clues)
- Pen and pencils
- A backpack
- A hat (Sun, folks, sun!)
- SUNSCREEN! (You're still in South Florida!)
- Money (for parking) or a ride to the area
- Money (for food) or bring your own food
HUNT STRATEGY TIPS
1) The Hunt starts promptly at noon...so get there early, find a nice, comfy place to sit/wait near the stage before the insanity begins.
2) Try to find me beforehand and say 'hi'! I'd love to meet ya!
3) Do NOT be distracted by sports. There will be plenty of time to cheer your team(s) on after the Hunt.
ANNUAL OUT-OF FROM-TOWNER TIPS
- Do the OPPOSITE of everything above!
- Drink heavily during the Hunt, but have a ride back home or to your hotel ready.
- The Herald Hunt is not in Miami this year, but Homestead. You are in the wrong area. Please turn around and head southwest.
- The Herald Hunt special section can be found in Monday's "Gnome Now". Wait for it.
WHAT I WILL BE WEARING
For those of you who want to find me, here's what I will look like. I'll be wearing jeans, and a special edition Tropic/Herald/Post Hunt Archives T-shirt, as
shown below!
(For those paying attention, yes, you've seen this shirt before.)
I WANT YOUR PHOTOS! I WANT YOUR VIDEOS! I WANT YOUR HUNT STORIES!
Got pictures? Got video? Got stories about your Hunt experience? PLEASE email me if you'd like to contribute them to the Archives! I'd be
eternally grateful, as well as the other visitors to the site! Because of your help, the archives now has over 1100 items, including pictures,
stories, audio AND video! Let's keep it growing!
How else can you help the Archives? IF you are inclined, you can click the donation button below. Choose your own amount...it would be much appreciated!
(Doing so will not increase your chances of winning the Hunt, but may make you feel are warm and fuzzy inside like it does me!)
DON'T FORGET TO USE TWITTER!
All throughout the Hunt I'll be tweeting with personal updates. Join me and use the #HeraldHunt hastag!
PRE-HUNT GATHERING TODAY IN PEMBROKE PINES!
From 3:30pm-5:30pm TODAY, you can find me at The Pub in Pembroke Pines, along with fellow Hunters. Come on by and say 'hi' and discuss the Hunt with your
fellow comrades in confusion! Details are lower on the page.
I'll see you all at the Hunt if I don't see you today!
11/27/2009 - T-II DAYS! WACKY TEAM NAME WINNER! THE SATURDAY PAPER! WEATHER, TWITTER AND MORE!
Good afternoon, everybody! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, is having a safe Black Friday and is getting ready for some Hunting on Sunday!
Got a few things for you to chew on!
YOUR 2009 HERALD HUNT WACKY TEAM NAME WINNER!!
I have our Wacky Team Name winner! The 2009 Herald Hunt Wacky Team Name winning entry is:
"Billionaire Bail-out Bastards"
Submitted by: Sonia Garate of Wellington, FL
Congratulations, Sonia on a great entry (whoever thought the BBB acronym would stand for something else?)! You and your teammates will likely need to have your heads examined if you came up with a name like that! :)
CLARIFICATION ON GETTING THE HUNT SECTION ON SATURDAY
Okay, here's the deal. In the past, an early edition of Sunday's paper, called the "bulldog edition" was available on Saturday afternoon. This edition is no longer produced.
Instead, to get your Hunt section early, you can buy Saturday's paper (i.e. the one dated 11/28/2009) from anywhere (store, newspaper vending box, etc.) and it will have the Hunt section inside of it (check to make sure it has it before you buy your paper, just to be safe). The Hunt section will *not* be in home-delivered papers.
HUNT WEATHER UPDATE
Your (un)Official Herald Hunt Weather Forecast for Sunday as of 10:44am this morning:
80 degrees, partly cloudy with a 0% chance of rain!
Still looking great!
TWITTER
I'll be twittering updates during the Hunt tomorrow. You can follow me on Twitter if you like, and if you tweet anything, use the #HeraldHunt hashtag.
PRE-HUNT GATHERING REMINDER
Finally, I hope you can make it by tomorrow afternoon for the Pre-Hunt gathering. It's nothing huge, just a small gathering of Hunters (new and old alike). Come by and say hi without the stress of the Hunt on your shoulders! Details are below. Really, look below.
11/25/2009 - PRE-HUNT GATHERING ON SATURDAY! HOW TO GET YOUR HUNT SECTION EARLY!
Good afternoon, everybody! I'm here with some special, exciting Hunt news!
WACKY TEAM NAME WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT...ALMOST!
I'm still waiting to hear who the winner of the Wacky Team Name contest is. I suspect that I may not hear back until Friday at this point, but keep checking back, just in case! In the meantime, all I can say is: CONGRATULATIONS, (winner's name here), FOR WINNING THE CONTEST!
BULLDOG EDITION RETRACTION
When speaking with the folks at the Herald today, they clarified that they indeed do not have a "bulldog edition" of the Herald any longer. HOWEVER, you CAN still get your Hunt section early! How? If you BUY Saturday's paper at your local store (not sure about newsstands, but that's a possibility...), it is supposed to have the Herald Hunt section in it. It will NOT be home delivered...you must buy the paper if you want to get the section in advance. Theoretically, you could have the section as early as Saturday morning!
PRE-HUNT GATHERING ON SATURDAY!
Next, I'm happy to say that I'm putting together a casual "Pre-Hunt" gathering this Saturday! Get your bulldog edition of the Herald, bring your Hunt section with you, and we can go over it, share ideas, talk about past Hunts and more. Here's the details!
2009 PRE-HERALD HUNT GATHERING
When: This Saturday, 11/28, from 3:30-5:30pm
Where: The Pub (Located in The Shops at Pembroke Gardens)
237 SW 145th Terrace
Pembroke Pines, FL 33027
(954) 430-4230
Get directions here!
It's BYOF/B (Buy Your Own Food/Beverage). Please also note that this gathering is not connected to the Miami Herald in any way. I just wanted to give you a chance to come out, talk about the Hunt (while it's not going on), review the special section, and have a nice time!
I'll be wearing a Hunt shirt from a prior Hunt, so look for me and my red hair and join us!
11/24/2009 - T-V DAYS! LOTS OF INFO ON PARKING, SHIRTS, BULLDOG EDITION, WEATHER UPDATE AND MORE!
Happy Tuesday of the short work week, everyone!
Lots of updates here, so let's get down to business! Let's start with weather...
WEATHER!
Your (un)Official Herald Hunt Weather Forecast for Sunday as of 7:28am this morning:
77 degrees, mostly sunny with a 0% chance of rain!
Wow...it's looking to be perfect Hunt weather on Sunday! Bring your sunscreen!
PARKING!
Folks have wondered about parking for the Hunt. Rather than have me regurgitate what someone else has written up, go here for information.
T-SHIRTS!
Look, Hunt shirt info!
BULLDOG EDITION!
There was a rumor running around that there no longer was an early edition of the Sunday paper (the "Bulldog edition") available on Saturday. That is innaccurate. You still can plan on buying your Sunday paper on Saturday afternoon as usual!
GET YOUR WACKY TEAM NAME IN...NOW!
It's getting close to tomorrow's deadline! Get your Wacky Team Name entries in now!
LOOKIE LOOKIE! A PRESS RELEASE!
Start Making Your List and Checking it Twice:
The Holiday Season Gets Off to a Zany Start with Herald Hunt 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MIAMI, FL - The Miami Herald's annual event, the Herald Hunt, presented by the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, rings in South Florida's holiday season on Sunday, November 29 at 12 noon. The Hunt's headquarters will be at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, with the Main Stage in front of the Miami Herald building located on NE 14 Street and Herald Plaza in downtown Miami. This year's event features a holiday theme, with Dave Barry sure to be the season's most merrymaking elf.
One of South Florida's favorite events since its inception in 1984, the Herald Hunt is a unique urban adventure in which, over the course of one memorable afternoon, players attempt to solve a series of bizarre clues. The cost of admission? The Sunday, November 29 edition of The Miami Herald, featuring the essential Herald Hunt section, the "roadmap" to The Hunt.
The first team to finish the Herald Hunt wins a 7-night Caribbean cruise for four on Costa Cruise Lines. But, as most seasoned Hunters know, you don't go for the prize; you go for the thrill of actually solving the puzzles. The "ah ha!" moment of coming up with the solution will knock your flip-flops off.
With the event capping off the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, South Floridians will find The Hunt to be the perfect way to escape the insanity of the shopping malls and enjoy some family-friendly entertainment. "The Herald Hunt is unique," says Elaine Pasekoff, Hunt Mistress extraordinaire and Miami Herald Marketing Manager. "It's weird, wacky, frustrating, non-stop fun. Now in its 19th year, The Hunt has achieved cult status."
"For the second year in a row, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts is excited to welcome over 5,000 clue hunters from around South Florida and beyond to roam through our beautiful Knight Concert Hall and lobbies for what is a unique South Florida tradition," said Andrew Goldberg, Vice President, Marketing, Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County.
The geniuses behind The Hunt are, as always, Dave Barry, The Miami Herald's Pulitzer Prize-winning, nationally syndicated humor columnist and best-selling author; and Tom Shroder, formerly executive editor of The Miami Herald's Sunday magazine, Tropic, and The Washington Post Sunday magazine.
Together, Barry and Shroder have created and fostered an event that has become famous not just in Florida, but across the nation. They spend months conjuring up devious clues that inevitably confound players, some of whom fly in from all over the country just for the occasion.
Media interviews with Dave Barry will be available on a limited basis the week before The Herald Hunt, starting on November 23. For more information about The Herald Hunt, please visit www.HeraldHunt.com. |
TTFN everyone! Have a great day!
11/21/2009 - T-5 DAYS UNTIL TURKEY! T-6 DAYS UNTIL SHOPPING INSANITY! T-8 DAYS UNTIL THE HUNT!
Happy Saturday, everyone!
Are you ready for what's going to happen over the next week'ish' of time? Family and food first, serious shopping second, and hilarious Hunting third!
That's right, we're in the HOME STRETCH before Herald Hunt 2009 arrives! There's lots of logistics in getting Turkey Day and Black Friday. For example, here are some real life snippets of planning for each:
THANKSGIVING
*thinking to self*
"Hmm, what do we put in the oven when so that it's all ready at the same time?"
BLACK FRIDAY
*said to your 85-year-old grandmother*
"Okay, this store has a huge sale, so you go to this store and begin camping out while I figure out what to put in the oven and when..."
Well, I stand before you and say the Hunt is NO DIFFERENT! It requires just as much thought and planning, which would included the below strategy:
HERALD HUNT
Team Member 1: "I'm going back to the flying sheep, I didn't understand it."
Team Member 2: "No, the guy who wanted applause is more important."
Team Member 1: "At least there aren't any church bells this year..."
So get your teams together, and begin planning out your strategy. This year has an awesome first prize, and you all could be sailing away on a nice cruise!
While getting your team together, think about what to call yourselves! The deadline is coming up this Wednesday, so enter the Wacky Team Name contest ASAP, because the deadline is this Wednesday (11/25)!
And if you're one of those "The Office" types who always thinks about work and how to improve processes (you know who you are), the corporate team contest is for you!
TTFN!
