CARIBBEAN renowned hair and beauty expo Curl Fete has been cancelled this year due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, but the organisers have something else that’s just as fun in mind – a scavenger hunt that will no doubt promote small businesses.

Tamika Henry-Fraser is the Chief Executive Officer of Curl Fete and she believes that such an activity, which is quite new to Guyana, is timely especially as people need some fun in their lives due to all of the restrictions that the virus has imposed.

Curl Fete is an annual Natural Hair and Beauty Expo that was launched in 2016 to empower women, encourage self-love and celebrate the beauty of curly and kinky hair.

“It has since evolved into the largest trade show for hair and beauty in the Caribbean, as well as now the largest expo in Guyana. We are especially proud that Curl Fete is a massive platform for small businesses to market their goods and services, especially women-led start-ups,” Henry-Fraser has expressed.
A huge event was planned to celebrate Curl Fete’s fifth anniversary this year, but because of the virus, it had to be cancelled. However, the organisers thought of an innovative way to still promote small businesses, have fun, and give back to the Curl Fete family.

And that’s when the scavenger hunt was announced. It is an activity where participants complete challenges, find clues, solve riddles, and collect random items to score points and win prizes.

It allows many persons to be involved in one activity but at separate locations throughout the day with no large crowds so that everyone can be safe. What is more, businesses are promoted when participants visit their locations or use their products to complete challenges in the scavenger hunt.

“It’s called ‘Bring 5000 and 4 Frenz’ which refers to the cost to play: $5,000 per team of five persons. Yes, this is a team event and teams are made up of family members, workmates or close friends who share the same space, again due to COVID-19 restrictions,” Henry-Fraser explained.

The scavenger hunt will be held on December 6 in Georgetown, starting at Massy Mega Store at MovieTowne. Teams must sign up beforehand to play and have a chance to win the grand prize of $200,000, plus special prizes throughout the game. For example, best team name, best team outfit and even best team masks. To sign up, persons can contact the Curl Fete team on 661 5760.

Teams are made up of both women and men who will be competing in the hunt. “We are also collaborating with some of our favourite brands to make the game and prizes even more exciting! These include BiP, Guinness, Hop House 13, Triskits, D’Aguiars Wines, Demico Premium Ice Cream, Biore, Jergens, Seven Seas and Garnier Fructis. Small businesses will be participating as ‘mobile’ vendors who the participants will discover as they collect clues that lead to them,” Henry-Fraser further explained.
The event is also being organised by Digicel, Banks DIH and Massy Distribution.

“It’s a safe way to get outside, be active, spend time with people you care about, compete against total strangers, win prizes and have a blast with the Curl Fete team. This is also the first time an event of this kind is being done in Guyana because we are using smartphone apps to run the scavenger hunt so that there are limited physical interactions and no shared materials. So by participating you get to be a part of history,” she pointed out.

Strict COVID-19 protocols will be enforced and the team is seeking advice from medical professionals and the COVID-19 Task Force to ensure that this is done. Small businesses who would like to get involved as vendors are urged to make contact with the team.