By Molly McGowan
Times-News Staff Writer

Published: Sunday, November 2, 2014 at 4:30 a.m.

Organizers of the first fundraising “Hendo Hunt” scheduled for Saturday have added an extra element to the Main Street scavenger hunt — decoding a secret message.

Announced earlier this month, the fact-finding scavenger hunt was a new community event developed by Elevents to raise awareness and funds formagencies and nonprofits.

Money from the $2 event fees this year will benefit Team ECCO, Free REIN and Friends of the Mill House, and more than 40 community businesses and organizations are sponsoring the event. The city of Hendersonville, Henderson County, the Henderson Tourism Development Authority and Downtown Hendersonville are also supporting the fundraiser, according to a news release.

Graham Mew, spokesman for Elevents, said the Hendo Hunt is intended to encourage Hendersonville residents to learn more about their downtown area and boost the Main Street economy.

Initially, the rules of the game dictated players read clues on the back of the Monopoly-style game boards, decode 18 downtown business locations described in the clues, then head to the stores or restaurants to receive stamps on the correlating spaces on the board.

Now, when players pop into downtown businesses to earn their stamps, they’ll also receive a letter. All the letters from the various participating businesses can be unscrambled to spell out a unique phrase tied to Henderosnville, Mew said.

Players who visit every downtown location to receive a stamp and letter, and unscramble the letters to correctly spell out the phrase, will be entered into a drawing for the grand prize worth $120, Mew said.

Those who don’t opt to unscramble the letters yet complete their game boards will still be eligible for prize drawings, which include Flat Rock Playhouse tickets, gift certificates to The Green Room, Mast General Store, Kilwin’s and Tito’s Specialty Foods, as well as a one-night stay at the Claddagh Inn.

As an added bonus, players who complete their game boards will be able to use them as coupons at several Main Street stores, since they are offering discounts after the event to those who cracked all 18 clues.

An additional element to the Hendo Hunt is the participation of Hendo Holmes, the super sleuthing bear introduced to the community at the Bearfootin’ Bears Auction on Oct. 25.

“We’ll have the bear coming out every hour,” Mew said. “Everyone that gets a photo done with (Hendo Holmes) will get an extra point — and points mean prizes.”

The Hendo Hunt will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Historic Henderson County Courthouse, and run until 3:30 p.m. Register yourself or your team online at www.Elevents.org.

Reach McGowan at molly.mcgowan@blueridgenow.com or 828-694-7871.