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Fairfield chamber to host Treasure Hunt Weekend
FAIRFIELD — The Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for its second Treasure Hunt Weekend after unveiling the new event last year.
The Fairfield Treasure Hunt Weekend will be Friday and Saturday, July 28-29, at participating retail outlets and garage sales in Fairfield that weekend. The chamber has printed a treasure map showing the location of the 11 businesses that have signed up so far, plus a list of the 19 garage sales and where to find them.
Participants will have the chance to find the pirate’s “missing garb” at these businesses, and post a selfie with it on social media with the hashtag #fairfieldtreasurehuntweekend. Those who post photos will have the chance to win chamber bucks for best selfie or most selfies.
Fairfield Area Chamber of Commerce Director Mendy McAdams said she gave chamber bucks to everyone who posted a photo on social media last year who used the hashtag. She said the chamber is not trying to make a profit on the event, and that all of its revenue goes into printing the map and into chamber bucks for participants.
McAdams said the idea for this Treasure Hunt-themed shopping event goes back a few years. Many years ago, the chamber hosted a big summer shopping event called Fiesta Days. McAdams attempted to revive the event when she became chamber director, but she said that people couldn’t help but compare the new Fiesta Days to the one they had known before when it was bigger.
“We decided to put that event in the vault,” McAdams.
McAdams said the town’s retailers were hungry for a special event to bring people to town. At the same time, Fairfield had not hosted a citywide garage sale for a few years, since the event died out during the pandemic. McAdams got the idea to take on the citywide garage sale while combining it with a pirate-themed program that involved the city’s retailers, and the Treasure Hunt Weekend was born.
“Most events take three years to really get going, and this is our second year,” McAdams said. “Last year, all our retailers reported people from out of town stopped in. We’ve got a ton of new pirate fun at different locations this year.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
