Photos courtesy of Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce
There may not be rock climbing, high-speed racing or jet-setting across the world, but Westerville’s Uptown Shuffle brings all the excitement and competition of The Amazing Race right here to Columbus.
The Uptown Shuffle, organized by the Westerville Area Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals Network, provides residents a fun way to interact with the merchants in the Uptown Westerville area. During the event, teams participate in a scavenger hunt, stopping at participating businesses to complete an activity before racing to the finish line. In past years, participants have faced challenges such as eating a Dairy Queen Blizzard as fast as possible, performing karaoke and hula hooping.
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“It was hilarious,” says Sara Canterbury, a Young Professionals Network committee member. “Not everyone can hula hoop, we found out.”
Each team consists of four to six people who are encouraged to dress in crazy, themed outfits.
“In the past we’ve had teams of Winnie the Pooh, Wizard of Oz, KISS with full face-paint and wigs … the whole nine yards,” says Erin Glaser, manager of marketing at the Chamber. “People really take a lot of fun in this. It’s been an event where everything goes, so people have a good time with it.”
The 2015 Uptown Shuffle will be held June 5. The event begins with a pre-party on the third floor of The Old Bag of Nails Pub at 5:30 p.m., continues with the scavenger hunt at 6:30 p.m. and culminates with an after-party at 8 p.m. At the after-party, the winning team is awarded its prize, and participants can network, enjoy craft cocktails and snack on appetizers provided by the pub. There will also be a silent auction and raffle.
The $25 registration fee for the event grants participants entrance to the shuffle, two drink tickets and food at the pre-party and after-party, Glaser says. Only those 21 and over may participate.
“Six years ago, we started with 10 businesses and 10 teams,” says Glaser. “Last year was our fifth year, and we had 19 teams and 28 businesses. We’ve grown substantially from the beginning.”
This year, some of the businesses participants can expect to see along the shuffle route include ZenKidz Play Café, Dough Boys Pizzeria, Déjà Vu, Buckeye BrewCraft and Uptown Pharmacy.
For more information about the Uptown Shuffle, visit www.westervillechamber.com.
Taylor Weis is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at hbealer@cityscenemediagroup.com.
