River District News: Hundreds take to Main Street to win scavenger hunt

River District Danville Virginia

(434) 791-7985

BY DENICE THIBODEAU
dthibodeau@registerbee.com

Downtown Danville was teeming with people Thursday night for the first Main Street Scavenger Hunt.

Hundreds of participants picked up their scavenger forms at the JTI Fountain and took to Main Street, heading into businesses from Rippe’s to Amburn Salon & Spa to find pictured items and have their forms validated.

The Downtown Danville Association, Danville Regional Medical Center and American National Bank sponsored the event, which included free soft drinks, ice cream and live music on Main Street Plaza.
Jerry Amburn, of Amburn Salon & Spa, said the object of the hunt was to attract people to the recently renovated blocks of Main Street and get them into the businesses.

“It’s been great,” Amburn — a member of the DDA — said. “People keep coming in and saying, ‘Wow, this is a beautiful place and I didn’t even know you were here’ … that’s what we wanted to hear.”
Completed scavenger hunt forms got participants into a drawing for a $500 cash prize, and they could get extra entries by shopping downtown during the event — every $10 purchase at select merchants gave them more entries.

River District Danville Virginia

Barbara Seamster, general manager of radio stations 104.5 The Dan and Country Legends 103.7 and a member of the DDA, said the scavenger hunt was a way of supporting Business Appreciation Week and encouraging people to check out the stores and restaurants on Main Street.

“We started small this year with Danville’s Main Street, but we plan to continue expanding the event and hopefully hosting more evenings like this,” Seamster said.

Tina Farthing said she was glad her daughter talked her into coming downtown, a place she doesn’t visit often unless it’s for an event at the Crossing at the Dan.

“I’m so glad to see things building back up here,” Farthing said and she headed into Vintages on the Dan — where customers were lined up to buy from the assortment of craft beers and unusual wines.

“It’s been rocking in here,” Robin Jones, co-owner of Vintages, said.

River District Danville Virginia

Dell’Anno’s manager Mike Gillespie said they stayed busy throughout the event.
“We ran out of tickets and had to go get some more,” Gillespie said. It’s been a good night.”

Everyone gathered at the fountain again for the prize drawing, and when Cara Burton, executive director of the Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History, asked if anyone had discovered cool stores they didn’t know existed, hands shot up throughout the crowd.

Jessica Buckner, of Danville, had the winning ticket and went home with $500 in cash.