Eight All-Island Scavenger Hunts Mark the Beginning Octifest Season for Sanibel Sea School

Inspired by a game from this past summer’s Sanibel Skills Camp, Sanibel Sea School will hold eight island-wide weekly scavenger hunts to mark the season of Octifest, Sanibel Sea School’s first celebration of mission.

“This summer we walked past Luc Century’s house every day and the kids sang songs along the way. Once day Luc called us and said how nice the kids sounded and how he wanted to play a game with them. He carved a beautiful whale in a river stone and hid it in plain sight. He said the first child to find it, could have it” recounts Evelyn Neill. “It was a lot of fun and such a wonderful gift. So when we started talking about all we wanted Octifest to be and we were pondering how we might give back to the island, we thought of Luc and a scavenger hunt.”

Each of the next eight weeks, Sanibel Sea School will hide a waterproof token somewhere on the island and will give clues to its location in the newspaper. The person who finds the token will redeem it for a beautiful signed crystal vase carved by Luc Century with an encircling octopus. “There’s no hitch. No one has to buy anything. It’s just a game!” says Neill.

Similar types of scavenger hunts have created tremendous community fun in cities like Portland, Oregon where a large medallion is hidden somewhere in the city or the famous search for the silver hare in the book Masquerade by Kit Williams. “We are going to have a fundraiser at the end of these eight weeks and we hope it will be a tremendous success “ said Neill. “But as one of our committee members said, that is our fundraiser and this is our fun raiser.”

“I hope someone will learn a few facts along the way too” says Dr. Bruce Neill, director of Sanibel Sea School. He says the clues will not be easy and he hopes that everyone will join in the fun. “This is what it’s all about to live on islands like Sanibel and Captiva. We founded Sanibel Sea School as a non-profit dedicated to a very specific mission: to save our oceans through knowledge – teaching people about the marine environment in a visceral hands-on way. And we have found something else in the process: how supportive a community can be not only of our mission, but also of its appropriateness for Sanibel. And for that we are truly grateful. This scavenger hunt is a small way to share that mission.”

The Eight Octifest Scavenger Hunts will begin next week with Clue #1. Each week look for the clues in the paper and may the best man, woman and child win!!