10 days, 10 clues, 1 prize, 5 years of fun history!

The original search was created by Rabbi Will Berkovitz of the Hillel Foundation and University of Washington in 2006 as a Seattle-wide community building event. A medallion is hidden somewhere in the city and over ten days, ten clues are provided to help players seek out and find the prize. The winner gets both the medallion and additional prizes.

In 2007 and 2008, Playmasons, LLC began helping the University to develop and test clues. In 2007 the theme was “Japan Envisions the West,” partnering with the Seattle Art Museum during its Japanese art exhibit of the same name. The clues were written in a Japanese poetry form similar to Haiku. And in 2008 the subject was called “Year of the Frog,” partnering with Woodland Park Zoo, and highlighting the loss of amphibian species in the Northwest.

Playmasons found a great fit in 2009 with Bumbershoot and One Reel sponsoring last year’s music-themed Search. The medallion, which was made to look like a replica of an old 78 record, “Seattle Hunch” by Jelly-Roll Morton, was disguised as a stainless steel parking sign sidewalk disc. It was found by the lucky winner in front of Jive Time record store in Fremont. Last year’s winner enjoyed a Grand Prize package featuring “A Year Of Music,” valued at over $5,800.