Merchants to hold 'The Great Lewiston Treasure Hunt'

Left of Center with Joshua Maloni

Ahoy, mateys!

Shoppers can walk the plank, or just Center Street, this Saturday, as part of “The Great Lewiston Treasure Hunt.” Sponsored by the Lewiston Business Group, the shopping and dining event runs from noon to 4 p.m.

Organizer Donna Garfinkel, of Sgt. Peppers Hot Sauces, Etc., said, “The shops will have pink balloons, and the restaurants will have blue balloons outside of their business to show who's participating.”

Inside, guests will find “a lot of items in these shops that you don't need to go to the ‘big box’ stores or Amazon, and they're special items that are particular to the shop that makes them special items, too,” Garfinkel said.

She added, “It's a perfect opportunity for (people) to come out and see what each shop has; have the opportunity to win a basket that's going to have things from other shops that they might not have been able to go to, so that they know what that shop has – to get people to start realizing that the shops are here; and that we're open; and we would love them to come in and shop in our shops and get to know us.”

Pictured are some of the basket items available to be won as part of the “The Great Lewiston Treasure Hunt.” (Images courtesy of Donna Garfinkel)

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Here's how the “Treasure Hunt” will work:

“We have 23 shops and restaurants that are participating, and we have 15 baskets that we’ll be raffling off on Sunday after the event,” Garfinkel said. “We are encouraging people to go to each shop (on Saturday), look for the treasure item, write it down on the sheet. The sheets are being handed out at every shop, so nobody has to run to a certain shop. And then they write that down, and they have to get at least 10 by going to the different shops. And then we encourage them to eat at the participating restaurants and place their tally into the bag that will be provided at the front counter of the restaurants.

“Each basket is $25 or more of the participating shops’ and restaurants’ items, whether it be gift cards or an actual item from their shop. So, they're nice baskets for everyone to win.”

She said, “Each participating shop will have one of the baskets in their shop for the people to see. All 15 of them will be spread out within the 15 shops for them to look at.”

Upward Niagara Chamber of Commerce President Amanda Haseley said, “One of our mottos here at the Chamber is ‘Support Local Everything.’ In fact, we named our podcast after it. So, supporting our local community is crucial. But it’s so much more than that. … It’s about sustaining the heartbeat of our community. Seeing our local merchants come together for this event and share their resources creates a network that draws in more business and strengthens local ties.”