Transcript
PAIGE HAYES: Today marks the first day for the 11 day long Syracuse Winterfest. The Winterfest has been a tradition since 1985. And the president of Winterfest, Bill Cooper, has been involved since the beginning.
BILL COOPER: A little bit of something for everyone. We go from kids events to adult events to fun events as well. Human Dog SLED race to Cornhole Competition team Trivia kids, children events. So it’s and plus there’s lots of food tasting and sample drink tasting.
HAYES: To kick off the festivities, the event for today is the annual treasure hunt where a 1.5 inch plastic medallion is hidden at a public area in Onondaga County.
COOPER: People love that. They swarm to go to that event and it has been in many places in the county.
HAYES: Last years winner, Brian Schermerhorn, was walking along the Onondaga Creekwalk when he came across the medallion.
BRIAN SCHERMERHORN: Kinda surreal it’s hard to put it into words. It was kind of like I cannot believe I found it.
HAYES: The lucky winner of the treasure hunt gets two thousand dollars. But the money did not last Schermerhorn long.
SCHERMERHORN: I spent it on college. It’s all gone straight to tuition.
HAYES: The treasure hunt is sponsored by Countryside Federal Credit Union and Syracuse.com and the first clue came out today hinting that it would be at a park in Onondaga County. Liverpool residents at Onondaga Lake Park say that they’ve come close in the past to finding the treasure.
RICHARD MARQUIS: We knew exactly where it was, we just couldn’t find it.
LEIGH WILSON: Every year we have been in the same place twice when it was found and it was very frustrating.
HAYES: But if you don’t have any luck finding the medallion today, Liverpool resident Mary McBlane says to not give up.
MARY MCBLANE: The early clues are very vague so it’s better to keep watching them. But we keep looking, I keep looking.
HAYES: Clues are released daily and can be found at Syracuse.com. The Winterfest will be here in Syracuse from today until the 26th. This is Paige Hayes reporting for NCC News.
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) — The 2023 Syracuse Winterfest kicked off its annual event today by releasing its first clue for a prize of $2,000 to some lucky winner out there who finds the medallion first.
The treasure hunt is sponsored by Countryside Federal Credit Union and syracuse.com.
Every year a 1.5 inch plastic medallion is hidden at a public area in Onondaga County.
The 2022 winner, Brian Schermerhorn of Chittenango, found the medallion tucked underneath the roots of the trees at the Onondaga Creekwalk.
“It was kind of surreal,” said Schermerhorn following, “it’s hard to put into words it was kind of like I can’t believe I found it.”
Schermerhorn said he was invited by his father and his father’s girlfriend to help them search for the medallion and he “was just lucky enough to find it.”
He used the reward money to help pay for college tuition.
The first clue released was “The Hunt starts today! Within Onondaga County parks you’ll have to stay,” according to syracuse.com and The Post-Standard.
At Onondaga Lake Park, Richard Marquis of Liverpool, said that he has come close to finding the medallion a couple of times.
He said that he knew exactly where it was but just couldn’t find it.
“It’s important to know to follow the clues, to get an idea where it is but then once you get there, you know, there are still some people who are more observant than others,” said Marquis.
Mary McBlane and Leigh Wilson of Liverpool said they look out for the treasure every year.
“We have been in the same place twice when it was found and it was very frustrating,” Wilson said.
McBlane added that “the early clues are very vague, so it’s better to keep watching them.”
At the Winterfest, there are many different events offered for all ages.
Bill Cooper has been president of the Winterfest since 1998 and has been involved since the inception since 1985.
Cooper said there is “a little bit of something for everyone” at the Winterfest.
In addition to the annual treasure hunt, there is ice skating, fireworks, human dog sled races, corn hole tournaments, live music, food/drink competitions and more offered.
The Winterfest at Syracuse lasts from Feb. 16-26.