Over 100 people on 18 teams raced through Little Tokyo on Nov. 9 to support Kizuna’s second annual scavenger hunt fundraiser, also known as “The Hunt.”
Beginning at Centenary Methodist Church, the four- to eight-person teams raced through Little Tokyo into an array of challenging mini-competitions, clues and activities. Clues and challenges were designed to have participants get to know Little Tokyo better by introducing them to local businesses, surrounding landmarks and community events.
The Hunt’s challenges had participants interact with 14 different participating nonprofits and businesses. Nonprofit challenges included creating paper koi flags and samurai hats for Japanese American Cultural and Community Center’s upcoming Fiesta Matsuri event for Children’s Day, as well as dressing up as superheroes in the Japanese American National Museum for its “Marvels & Monsters” exhibition.
Local business challenges included identifying a mystery pizza at Xlixe Pizzeria, an Oreo-on-the-forehead challenge at Bar Nirvana, a donut-eating contest at Café Dulce, and mochi trivia at Fugetsu-do.
“Our goal this year was to build off our past success and create a memorable event for people to come see some of the great things that Little Tokyo has to offer. The community has been amazing and very supportive towards Kizuna, so this was our way of giving something back,” said Grant Kai, chair of the 2013 Hunt.
The winning team, the girls of ProTa, scored perfectly on all the challenge questions and took the $500 grand prize. In a close second place was Nisei Week 2013, and taking third place was Kizuna’s Community Mentors Program team.
The Hunt was hosted as a fundraiser for Kizuna, a nonprofit organization that builds a space for a next generation of community leaders through leadership development programs, internships and mentor programs. More information about Kizuna can be found online at www.kizuna-la.org.
Kizuna thanks all the participants, volunteers, businesses, and people who made this event possible, and hopes that everyone had fun and will be back next year.