Haverhill Exchange Club’s Annual Hillie Hunt Sends Teams Scurrying Next Week

Merrimack Valley Newsmakers

An old-fashioned scavenger hunt, using modern technology, sends teams traveling around town next week in search of the most clues to win.

Haverhill Exchange Club’s annual Hillie Hunt offers prizes for first, second and third place as well as for best Halloween costume. There’s also an after-party and 50/50 raffle. Exchange Club member Michael Joy, a recent guest on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program explains participants will be using a phone app.

“You just log into the app and then the questions start to pop up. You can do trivia questions. You can do GPS questions—everyone has to be recorded on the app. Then we have the Command Central, which this year will be at the Bradford Country Club, and they will be looking at who is getting what for points. (The app) does a lot of the work for you, which is great,” he explains.

Joy says the annual Hillie Hunt is organized by a number of Haverhill Exchange Club Committees, including one for the after-party, one for sponsorships and one for creating the clues.

“And, the Clue Committee has to keep everything very super-secret. They get together separately and they think of 40 to 50 clues to find, and the point of the game is to get as many of the items right and not to try to get them done too quickly. You don’t want to have people racing around town and getting into accidents,” he explains.

Admission for scavenger hunt teams or by the car, up to six people, is $200 and includes entrance to an After Party at Bradford Country Club, featuring heavy hors d'oeuvres, cash bar, DJ, prizes and more. The hunt takes place Friday, Oct 27, between 5:30 and 10 p.m. Tickets are available online at givebutter.com/HillieHunt. A portion of the proceeds benefiting the Michael B. Christensen Community and Family Support Center.

Joy says the timing of the Hillie Hunt works out well for the Halloween season.

“It’s great, in a way, for parents, especially for kids, because they have to go trick-or-treating the next night. It’s sort of their night out, before they take the kids out,” he says.

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