The second annual Miami Lakes Historical Scavenger Hunt attracted 32 teams and a total of 118 participants on Saturday, March 8, to downtown Miami Lakes. The unique event was created by Katherine Duarte, a 14-year-old Bob Graham Education Center student, as part of a Girl Scout project.
Most of the participants responded to Duarte’s request that they wear white and black to represent the dairy history of the town, or light blue to represent the many lakes within the community.
The event was co-sponsored by Miami-Dade County Commissioner Esteban Bovo Jr., The Graham Companies, and the Town of Miami Lakes which provided a bus to help participants who were not able to walk so much.
Many newcomers to The Hunt never thought it would be such hard work to walk around and search for the clues and solve the riddles.
“As participants turned in their maps at the end, you could see tired and sweaty faces, but you could sense the accomplishment they felt and how happy they were to endure to the end,” said Duarte. “That tells me that not only did they have a lot of fun, but they also learned about the history of our beautiful town.”
“The Historical Scavenger Hunt was a great family-friendly event,” said Vice Mayor Manny Cid. “It embodies what Miami Lakes is all about.”
Grand Prize winners were the “Super Cute Nachos” team of Clarisell De Cardenas, Luis Collazo and Joshua Dieguez. Second place winners were the “Unicorns” team of Gustavo Palomino, Tatiana Gonzalez, Adriana Palomino and Sofia Palomino. Third place winners were “The Moores” team of Alyssa, Cris and Susan Moore.
Entertainment for the event was furnished by Kung Fu Panda from Parks Martial Arts, Coppelia Ballet, Gigi’s Dancers and Show Stoppers along with special appearances by the Menchie’s mascot and Radio Disney Miami.
Duarte expressed her appreciation to the many businesses that supported the event including Miami Children’s Hospital, IG Travel Center in Doral, Chick-fil-A of Miami Lakes, Menchie’s Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida, Rhythm and Pitch School of Performing Arts, LARC Technical Institute, Shula’s 2, Pappa John’s , Flanigan’s, Tamura Restaurant, On The Border, Ruby Tuesday’s, Keyes Realty Company, Misha’s Cupcakes and Miami Lakes Baptist Church.
Starting April 1, residents may pick up a copy of the Scavenger Hunt map at the Keyes Realty office on Main Street and do the hunt with their family.
For more information, questions or comments, contact Duarte at mlhistoryhunt@gmail.com.