GREENFIELD — Be on the lookout for nine little goblins and pixie people this fall in downtown Greenfield.
The Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs recently awarded Greenfield Main Street and Fortville Action Inc. a $1,000 grant for scavenger hunts during the state’s first-ever Downtown Development Week, Oct. 8 through 12. The Hancock County communities were among five recipients chosen from 24 applications.
Greenfield’s scavenger hunt is modeled after two James Whitcomb Riley poems: “The Nine Little Goblins” and “The Pixy People.” Jenna Wertman, associate planner of Greenfield, said the city will have nine goblin and seven pixie-themed doors hidden throughout downtown at local businesses and cultural sites.
Wertman said downtown Greenfield will also have signs during the week highlighting OCRA’s downtown development initiative as well as information about the Riley poems and a map of the area.
“Hopefully we can encourage some people to come out and nose around the downtown and kind of see things from a different perspective,” she said, “and maybe do a little bit of window shopping while they’re here.”
A committee with the Riley Home Museum has been wanting to put pixie doors downtown, Wertman said, adding she’s glad OCRA was able to fund the idea in conjunction with Downtown Development Week. Melissa Thomas, communications manager for OCRA, said the agency enjoyed the poem scavenger hunt.
“This fun theme is a great way to engage and educate the community about all the downtown has to offer,” Thomas said.
In Fortville, people can follow clues from place to place for the town’s scavenger hunt that week. Milda Sterrett, president of Fortville Action, said when participants solve clues, they’ll be asked to take a selfie at each spot. She said people will also earn prizes once they get to the final destination on the hunt.
Sterrett and Wertman both said more details about the week will be announced as it gets closer to October.
