STANWOOD — Get ready glass-art lovers. The treasure hunt begins today.
A hand-blown, signed and numbered glass snowball could be yours if you find its corresponding clue ball during the Great Northwest Glass Quest in the Stanwood-Camano Island area.
More than 68 organizations and business owners are hiding 250 plastic clue balls in public parks and in shops around town and on the island. When found, the clues can be traded for wintry glass balls, shaped like the green Japanese fishing floats that occasionally wash up on Washington’s ocean beaches.
The glass quest continues through Feb. 28, coinciding with the winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, B.C., and the Port Susan Snow Goose and Birding Festival.
Volunteers are counting on the treasure hunt to attract tourists and locals alike, and, in turn, help shore up small businesses in the area.
“We’re trying to get people into our shops during a time of year when we don’t have a lot of tourists,” said organizer Doris Platis of the Seagrass Gallery on Camano Island. “We’ve had 4,000 hits on the glass quest Web site, which we think is a hopeful sign.”
The glass quest snowballs are created by Stanwood glass artist Mark Ellinger and could become sought-after collectors’ pieces if the quest takes off and becomes an annual event, Platis said.
For years, Ellinger has made hand-blown glass floats for similar treasure hunts in Grayland; Lincoln City, Ore.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and Jekyll Island, Ga.
“This has been a great cooperative effort by people on Camano and in Stanwood,” Platis said. “And it should be great fun.”
To participate in the Great Northwest Glass Quest:
Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427; gfiege@heraldnet.com.
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