Valerie Cassity
Special to the Sun

Last Saturday, the Cassity family took advantage of the opportunity to support local business, help feed the hungry, assist in keeping Isabella Blvd. beautiful, and have some good wholesome fun by taking part in the Turkey Treasure Hunt. The Turkey Treasure Hunt is a valley-wide scavenger hunt that is taking place throughout this entire week in which “hunters” have the chance to win prizes by collecting tickets at various participating businesses, some of which have games that the whole family can enjoy.

We began by picking up our packet at Isabella Market at 9:30 a.m., and immediately began visiting businesses on the list. Because we were some of the first hunters to reach the first businesses, we patiently waited while the helpful employees figured out what, exactly, they were supposed to do, and by 10:30 a.m. most of them seemed to have caught on to the routine. My husband and I are always looking for creative new activities to do as a family, so this was the perfect opportunity to spend the day together with our daughter, checking out some of the businesses we had always meant to visit. The friendliest stops along the hunt were Naomi’s, where Naomi herself chatted with us while we browsed through the store, and the Mine Shaft, where the owner and her daughter welcomed us and showed us the different gold mining equipment they offered for sale and for rent before showing us how to “pan for pennies” in front of the store. We had a blast taking turns playing the games, from horseshoes at Dave’s Sports Bar (it was outside, so even our 5 year old got a turn) to the ping pong bounce at Beyond Juice to golf putting at Fire and Ice to the traditional Native American corn cob toss game at the Nuui Cunni Cultural Center.

While we did take the opportunity to browse and snack throughout the day at the various places we visited, the business owners never made us feel pressured to buy anything, which made me want to buy from them all the more. Our route took us through Bodfish and Lake Isabella, then through Wofford Heights and back home to Kernville, where we had fun walking the perimeter of Circle Park and chatting with the merchants there. We arrived back home at 3:30 p.m. after a full day of “hunting,” and we can’t wait to see if we win any prizes at the end of the hunt party that will take place this Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10-2 at Isabella Market. The party will include food, live music, face painting and a bounce house for the kids, and the winners of the many prizes generously donated by local businesses will be announced.

I would like to personally thank Shawn Gilbert for organizing this creative and fun event, which is a win-win for everyone involved. The $5 it costs to enter goes entirely to Emily Diggles for the maintenance of the lovely landscaping she worked so hard to get put in on Isabella Blvd., and the canned food goes to Caravan for Compassion, which will then be distributed to the three food banks in the Kern Valley. It’s almost time to start holiday shopping, so this event helps local businesses, as well, by showing our community what they have to offer. I, for one, will almost exclusively do my own holiday shopping locally after seeing how dedicated our Kern Valley merchants are to the good of our entire community.

While registration was originally set to close on Nov. 12, Gilbert will continue to accept registrations until this Friday. So if you haven’t already gone on the Turkey Treasure Hunt, sign up at HYPERLINK "http://www.turkeytreasurehunt.com" www.turkeytreasurehunt.com and take a drive around our beautiful Valley. You might just win a turkey dinner, or find the perfect gift for that special someone in your life. Take part in your community and help keep the Kern Valley strong.