Algonquin mall to hold scavenger hunt for adults
Adults can get in on the Halloween fun this year at Algonquin Commons.
The Randall Road mall is hosting its first Pirates of the Commons event, which will send adults on a scavenger hunt throughout the shopping center.
The Commons is hosting the event from 7 to 10 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 29, for those 21 and older.
Teams of two will be given a card with things they must find, or things they must do while on the scavenger hunt.
All of the items can be found or done at the restaurants and food spots throughout the Commons, including Gourmet Kernel, Cheeseburger in Paradise and Niko’s Lodge.
For example, you may have to try a certain fun drink at one restaurant, videotape yourself doing something silly in another restaurant, or get a picture of a food sample in another, said Kim Gilmore, who is heading up public relations for Algonquin Commons, and organizing the event.
There will be 30 to 40 different cards that the teams could get, so different teams will be going different places on the hunt.
“They will be running all over the commons,” Gilmore said.
In all there will be 150 teams allowed in the event, and they will be released 15 teams at a time on the hunt, every 10 minutes.
For the $20 cost for a team of two, participants will get a T-shirt, and food and drink samples at the various restaurants.
“It’s a really inexpensive way to have fun on a Tuesday night,” Gilmore said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Gilmore said they planned this event to bring more people into the restaurants at the Commons.
Many of their other promotions — including upcoming Black Friday events, and coupon booklets and their Founding Fathers event earlier this year — focus on the stores. This time, she said, they wanted to do something to get people into the various restaurants at the commons so they could try what they have to offer.
In the past, the mall has hosted the Summer Concert Series, which somewhat integrated the restaurants into the event, she said. However, as the mall changed ownership this year, they didn’t do the concert series, so they wanted to plan something else fun for patrons and restaurant owners.
As of right now, all but two restaurants are participating, she said.
The scavenger hunt isn’t just for fun either, Gilmore said. It will be timed, and the first winners who complete everything on their card will get $600 in Commons gift cards to share. Second place will get $300 in gift cards and third place will get $100.
For the kids: In addition to the adult fun, Algonquin Commons also is hosting a kids’ trick-or-treating event at the mall as it has done in the past.
From noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 27, kids 12 and younger can trick-or-treat at participating stores. The event will begin in the mall’s courtyard at noon, and the candy distribution will start at 1 p.m.
Bags tourney: Randall Roadhouse, along Randall in Carpentersville, is hosting its annual Bags for Boobies tournament.
The beanbag-toss event on Saturday, Oct. 19 will help raise money for the Breast Cancer Society.
Registration for the event starts at 8 p.m. that night, with games starting at 8:45. The cost is $5 per player, and there will be cash prizes.
For information, visit the restaurant at 2267 Randall Road, or call (847) 836-3300.
Ÿ Amy Williams’ column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from Batavia to Crystal Lake. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or (847) 894-5036.