Holiday Stroll Medallion Hunt gets under way

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For the first time, Red Wing's Holiday Stroll will feature a Medallion Hunt.

The seventh annual downtown Stroll isn't until Nov. 28, the day after Thanksgiving, but the Medallion Hunt gets under way Wednesday with the posting of the first clue.

Treasure hunt clues will be published in the Republican Eagle, which hits the streets at 7 a.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and they also will be posted at 9 a.m. daily in the courtyard of the St. James Hotel, which is sponsoring the hunt. Clues will not be published on the newspaper's free Web site.

A new clue will be released daily until the medallion is found or until Nov. 27. If the medallion still is undiscovered at midnight on Nov. 27, the sponsors reserve the right to terminate the hunt and donate the prize to a local charity.

Grand prize is $500 in downtown dollars if the finder has registered a Holiday Stroll button in his or her name. If the finder has not registered a button, the prize will be $100 in downtown dollars.

The medallion, which is made of wood, is hidden on public property in the area between Ace Hardware on Old West Main Street and Runnings on Potter Street. Handmade by Jean and Barry Dosdall, it has "Holiday Stroll" on it.

Organizers stressed that it will not be on private property, not be in Levee Park or near railroad tracks, and not be adjacent to Highway 61. Searchers will not have to dig for it. If public property is destroyed, the hunt may be discontinued.

The person who finds the medallion must bring it to the Republican Eagle by 9 a.m. on Nov. 28 to claim the prize, which will be presented during the Holiday Stroll. The R-E office is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; it will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.

Holiday Stroll buttons, which cost $2, can be purchased at the newspaper office and numerous downtown business places. Major sponsors are the Republican Eagle, Downtown Main Street and the St. James Hotel merchants.

The button features the 2008 Holiday Stroll poster image, created by local artist Susan Welsch.

Buttons are numbered. The numbers of all buttons sold will be put into a drawing to win one of five $20 downtown dollars prizes. Proceeds from button sales will go to support the Stroll.

The Holiday Stroll, which has made Red Wing a destination for thousands of people on the day after Thanksgiving, will be from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 28 in downtown Red Wing.

There'll be a chili tasting and other foods, a 6 p.m. parade, a living Nativity, a visit from Santa, live reindeer and lighting ceremonies for downtown decorations. Organizers hope to make the medallion hunt an annual feature of the celebration.

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