On your mark, get set — go look for a gold-painted athletic shoe.
If you find one it’s worth up to $200 in prizes. The Golden Shoes contest is sponsored by Healthy Shasta and a host of north-state community partners.
I love this idea, maybe because I grew up in Redding looking forward to a pair of annual treasure hunts, the Asphalt Cowboys’ stolen loot and the KVCV Bug, worth hundreds of dollars.
I never found either, but it was fun to look.
Fun is a big part of the Golden Shoe hunt, but instead of cash prizes, the loot is health-related, such as: a one-year YMCA family membership, a bicycle, Fleet Feet Sports gift certificate, sports scholarship to use toward swimming lessons, dance classes, soccer registration or other physical activity, Redding Aquatics Center Season Family Pass, Redding Certified Farmers Market gift certificate, Organic produce deliveries to your home, Sunset Market gift certificate and Curves membership.
The shoes are hidden in locations that will lead the treasure-hunters to hike, play and eat healthy in Shasta County, or in areas that support healthy eating and/or physical activity. Official Healthy Shasta Golden Shoes are tagged with directions on how to claim a prize.
This Golden Shoe hunt will culminate on Oct. 4 at Turtle Bay with “Walk This Way” from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Admission is free, as are T-shirts for kids (while supplies last) and special activities, plus healthy cooking demos, food samples and health screenings. Tarilyn Isenhart, national jump rope champion and Cirque du Soleil performer, will be the featured attraction with her jump rope and comedy show.
Behold, the Golden Shoe clues:
1. If it gets too “baummy” along the Pacific Crest, take a dip in crystal clear waters and gaze skyward to find a Golden Shoe near an eagle’s nest.
2. In a magic house, where willow makes the walls, peek inside the doors and make yourself real tall.
3. Gold flowers, gold food, Gold Shoes – you never know what you will find on a Saturday morning.
4. Reach for Saturn and you just might slide into a Golden Shoe.
5. Follow the map to find the gold. Bite into the fruit. You will be sold.
6. Land a 720 at a park down South.
7. Use your “energy” to explore a new trail starting near a famous Shasta landmark … before the second bridge.
8. Enjoy the terrific taste of Tuesdays with local farmers.
9. Take a walk between the river and “sunset,” cross many bridges and keep your eyes on the stumps.
10. Just off the boulevard, “engle” your way for a nutritious good time and center your attention around the greens.
Updates on shoes will be posted at healthyshasta.org. For more information, call 229-8243.
