Fact Sheet | Prizes | How It Works | Rules & Info

Squeaky Wheel’s biennial social media scavenger hunt is back! Named by Buffalo Spree magazine as the “Best New Fundraiser 2019,” this fun, family-friendly event sets participants on a mission to accomplish as many tasks as they can throughout the afternoon. The most points at the conclusion of the event win the Grand Prize, with many additional special category prizes. The tasks (designed with equal parts cultural awareness, media-savvy, and silliness) encourage teams to creatively engage with their community outdoors in the open air and from the safety of their homes.

This year’s Excellent Adventure adapts easily to the challenging circumstances we’re living in now. With some thoughtful adjustments, we’ve reconfigured this year’s event to prioritize safety and to allow for social distance, yet it will remain an eminently social, superbly fun activity. Additionally, because of the measures we’ve taken to produce the opening and closing events online, we can open up the Excellent Adventure to anyone in the world with a smartphone and an internet connection. So be sure to tell all your friends in Denver or Dakar!

Funds raised at this event will support the free and low-cost media equipment access, education programs, and art exhibitions that Squeaky Wheel offers to Western New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds every day.

Fact Sheet: 

Who: You and up to three others!

What: Social media scavenger hunt

Where: Anywhere in the world!

When: Saturday, October 10, 2020

10:30 AM ET: Opening Event begins on Google Meet: Rules, support announced, Teams/Participants finalized.

11 AM ET: List of tasks unveiled: The race begins!

11 AM–4 PM ET: Embark on your adventure!

4 PM ET: Final deadline to submit tasks

5 PM ET: Closing Event on Google Meet: Team roll-call, submissions screened, prize-winners announced!

Why: To enjoy a fun-filled day of adventure and raise funds to support media literacy, arts, and education in Western NY

How: Assemble your team. PURCHASE TICKETS HERE at a sliding scale of $10-$25 per person.

Register early to receive a bonus clue!
(by Friday, October 9, 5:00 PM; registration closes Saturday, October 10, 12 pm)

Prizes: 

Grand prize: The Adventure Continues! ~$2,000 value!
– GoPro Hero9 kit 
– 4 Media Art Workshop vouchers for Squeaky Wheel
– 4 Anytime lift tickets to Holiday Valley
– Gift card to Steelbound Brewery & Distillery in Ellicottville
– 1-year membership to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Graycliff
– 4 annual Reddy Bikeshare memberships
– Private fossil hunt and tour at Penn Dixie Fossil Park & Nature Reserve
– New Era sports merchandise
– Parkside Meadow gift card

2nd Place: Photo finish! ~$800 value!
– 35mm Analog Camera kit
– 1 CEPA Gallery membership + 1 workshop voucher, and swag
– 4 memberships to Squeaky Wheel
– Passes to the George Eastman Museum
– 4 tickets to the National Comedy Center (2 dual admission tickets)
– Private bike tour and swag from Buffalo Bike Tours

3rd Place: Culture Vulture! ~$500 value!
– 2 tickets to Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra
– $50 Giftcard for The Black Sheep
– 2 Tickets Darwin Martin House 1 hour tour + souvenir book
– 4 Tickets to the National Comedy Center (2 dual admission tickets)
– 3 Individual memberships and 3 PineGrill T-shirts to African American Cultural Center
– 4 Tickets to a Squeaky Wheel screening

Most Creative
– $50 Pineapple Company gift card
– $50 Gutter Pop Comics gift card + gift basket 
– $50 Lumpy Buttons gift card 

Best Group Energy
– 4 Vouchers for a Make Your Own Glass workshop + 4 admission passes at Corning Museum of Glass
– Explore Buffalo family membership
– Buffalo Science Museum family membership

Honorable Mentions:
– Owl prowl for 14 people with Buffalo Audubon Society
– Shopping party at Half & Half: $50 gift certificate + 20% discount for up to 20 friends
– $20 gift card to Revolver Records

 

How the Excellent Adventure works:

Traveling by foot, bicycle, vehicle, assistive device, or just going into your backyard, participants will race to accomplish as many prompts as possible in photos or videos and upload them to Instagram with the hashtag #squeakyadventure. Thanks to Reddy Bikeshare and Buffalo Bike Tours, participants will also have discounts to bicycle rentals for the day. For those new to Instagram or in need of technical support, a virtual tech-help desk will be available at Squeaky Wheel for the duration of the event. Included with the list of tasks will be an FAQ with common questions and links to additional apps and tools that teams may find useful.

At 10:30 am EST, the Excellent Adventure Opening Event begins, and participants must be present. Rules will be explained, teams finalized, and other details, including safety precautions, discussed. Participants will be required to wear masks when social distance isn’t possible.

At 11:00 am (EST), the list of Excellent Adventure prompts will be revealed, AND THE ADVENTURE STARTS!

Participants have until 4:00 pm to accomplish as many tasks as they can and win points for each one. Most tasks are open to interpretation, such that whether you are participating from home or in the field, as a real-world or virtual team, you should be able to get them done.

A panel of judges will review the uploaded imagery in real-time, and they or staff will respond to each team’s task on Instagram to confirm that the task was received. Each prompt is assigned a certain number of points depending on difficulty. The judges will give points for completing tasks, with bonus points, at their discretion, for creativity. The final deadline to submit tasks will be 4:00 pm. Between 4:00–5:00 pm, the judges will confer, and the staff will prepare for the Closing Event.

At 5:00 pm, the Closing Event will begin where all will have a chance to view the submissions before the judges announce the prize winners. The Grand Prize is awarded to the team with the most points. Additional prizes will be awarded to teams completing tasks with humor, innovation, media-savvy, and other special categories (the actual special categories are subject to change). Top prizes include a GoPro camera kit, access to safe and healthy activities, and gift cards to delicious eateries and breweries around Buffalo! For those competing outside of Buffalo, prizes are shipped whenever possible.

RULES:

• TEAMS:

• • Register and form your own team of up to 4 people up to 12 pm day of event (3 pt. bonus task for those who register by 10/3/20; 1pt bonus task for those who register by 10/9/20)
  • You can join as a single-member team or as a “free-agent” and Squeaky Wheel will connect you with other free agents or teams looking for additional members (must register as free-agent by October 9th).
  • Teams can be from any geographic location.
  • Teams can be virtual. This may take more creativity, but if you have an online team, tasks can be interpreted to fit a virtual team.
  • Team members must all take part in solving the task. They do not always have to be in the image/video, but all must collaborate in coming up with each task submission.

• PLAY

• • At the opening event at 11 am the List will be revealed and the Squeaky Wheel’s Excellent Adventure officially commences. 
  • The list contains 100 clues/tasks each of which can be completed for a certain number of points (1-4).
  • Each team can select any number of tasks to complete. You do not have to complete all tasks (in fact it will be almost impossible). The more you accomplish, the more points you will get.
  • You may accomplish tasks in any order.
  • Each completed task must be documented in a photo or video that includes the Squeaky Wheel placard with your team name and uploaded to Instagram with proper hashtag: #SqueakyAdventure and captioned with the Task #.
    • NOTE: task number must coincide with the number assigned on the List. (For example, if you do task #5 first, your caption should say “Task 5”.
    • The Squeaky Excellent Adventure placard will be emailed and linked. You will need to print this out. (If you don’t have access to a printer, you may trace the placard by hand.)
  • Deadline to post tasks is 4:00 pm.
  • Recommended Free Apps: TikTok, Boomerang, Hyperlapse, Slo Mo Video, Glitch Art, Adobe Spark, Layout, Swipeable, Stop Motion (names may differ for depending on OS)
  • Closing event will be online (Google Meetings) at 5 pm where teams will be acknowledged, judges introduced, and prizes awarded. Participants will receive a link to the Closing event 

NEED TECHNICAL HELP?

For those new to Instagram or are in need of technical support, a virtual tech-help desk will be available at Squeaky Wheel for the duration of the event. If you need help on the go, feel free to text/call 716-427-4125 or message us on Instagram at @SqueakyBuffalo.

BICYCLE RENTAL TOURS

Thanks to Buffalo Bike Tours all adventurers receive 20% off Bike Rentals. Use promo code SQUEAKY2020 and sign up here: https://www.buffalobiketours.com/rentals

Reddy Bikeshare also has a special deal for you! Sign up for a Group Pass for just $1.00 (normally $9.00) which gets you access to up to 4 bikes at once. But that’s not all! You also get your first hour free for four riders ($24 value!). After that, your cost is just $0.10/min (or $6/hr) per bike. 

To sign up and ride: 

Click https://widget.socialbicycles.com/#/78/1045?promoCode=SQUEAKY20 to get started! We’ve applied the promo code for you to make it easy. Next, follow these

steps to redeem your free ride time:

1. Download the Social Bicycles app for Android or iOS and login with your email and password that you just used to create your new account.
2. Click the upper right corner, then click on “Memberships”, tap the arrow under your membership, then “Add promo code”
3. Enter the promo code SCAVENGE1 and hit apply.

You’re all set! You can use the same account number and PIN to unlock up to 4 bikes.

PRIVACY CONCERNS?

• If you don’t want to use your personal account, you can set up a new Instagram account for the team.
• Let your teammates know if you don’t want to be tagged in the photos.
• Let your teammates know if you don’t want your image included.

SAFETY & CONDUCT

• Don’t do anything illegal
• Abide by Squeaky Wheel’s Community Guidelines. (Details).
• Be respectful of people, communities, and public spaces. Please also be mindful of problematic and culturally appropriative digital behaviors, i.e. digital Blackface.
• Do not record or photograph people without their consent.
• Abide by all regional CoVid19 safety precautions (link?)
• Squeaky Wheel may disqualify any team that fails to follow these rules and codes of conduct.

JUDGING:

• A three person panel of judges (Liz Ferrer, Bow Ty, and Jenson Leonard) determines whether or not a submitted photo/video meets the criteria of a task. 
• Points are awarded for each completed task, with additional points given (if appropriate) for effort or creativity or “going beyond” at the discretion of the judges. 
• Judges or staff will respond in comments to each submission to confirm receipt.
• Judges will be reviewing between 11 am–4 pm, and making selections between 4–5 pm, with a moderator assisting the process.

 

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @SqueakyBuffalo for updates.

Squeaky Wheel’s Excellent Adventure is made possible through the generous support of Clover Group, Inc., Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP, Rigidized Metals, Allen Street Consulting, Bluebird Mobility, Catholic Health, Putman Insurance Agency, Stephens & Stephens, LLP, Bridget Donahue Gallery, Buffalo State College Communication Department, Paradise Wine, Buffalo Spree, Yelp, Challenger News, Buffalo Bike Tours, and Reddy Bikeshare.

We are currently seeking additional sponsors for this event. If you are interested, please contact kyla@squeaky.org.