Attracting new visitors to a city takes a variety of efforts including conferences, parades, festivals, and other types of public events. In Fremont’s quest to “weirdify” the City and attract more millennials, I present to you the puzzle hunt.

On May 6, 250 people gathered at Central Park to participate in DASH (Different Area, Same Hunt – th year). DASH is a high-energy, interactive, and collaborative puzzle hunt that happens in many cities simultaneously. This year, 479 teams in 16 cities worldwide participated in DASH, including 47 teams in Fremont.

 

The puzzle hunt has a different story theme every year. This year’s theme was an archeological dig that quickly turned extraterrestrial. The puzzles included physical artifacts, code translation, and an augmented reality rocket ship. The Fremont hunt started at Lake Elizabeth and followed a linear route along Paseo Padre Parkway to the downtown Whole Foods Market and looped back to Strivers Lagoon. The teams were presented with puzzles at various hidden locations along the way and used ClueKeeper, a software platform used to input answers, track progress, and receive hints.

 

 

Photos courtesy of Larry Hosken- https://lahosken.san-francisco.ca.us/anecdotal/hun…

Hosting and organizing DASH 9 was my sendoff thank you to the City of Fremont. After five years of working with Fremont, I am headed off to serve as the Economic Development Manager for the City of San Mateo. I want to take this opportunity to give my best wishes to the Fremont companies, colleagues, and community members who have been great partners during my tenure. My Fremont experience has been fun, rewarding, and a great privilege.