No, he’s not Rudolph, but he’s becoming just as popular.
His name is Darcy and the nine-foot tall, very green reindeer is quickly becoming the face of the downtown this holiday season.
Already making an appearance at the well-attended annual fashion show hosted by the Downtown Truro Partnership, Darcy was also responsible for guiding Santa’s parade float around the downtown during the annual Santa Claus Parade.
Now he’s making his way around the downtown again, this time making brief stops at a dozen businesses.
“Darcy will be travelling around the downtown core from business to business throughout the holiday season,” said Debbie Elliott, executive director of the Downtown Truro Partnership. “It’s our own holiday scavenger hunt. Now it’s up to residents to find out where Darcy has been or will be for their chance to win.”
And they can win big too. Three participants in the holiday scavenger hunt will walk away with a $500 gift certificate for the downtown businesses.
Although the contest started on November 21, people wanting to take part can still get in on the action. Elliott explains there are brochures available throughout the downtown that participants will require. It contains a tip on finding Darcy at each of his 12 downtown destinations. Using the tip, participants guess where Darcy is located and for confirmation, they can visit that business and see the giant reindeer on display.
“If you find him, then you write in the provided space where you found him, then it’s on to the next spot,” said Elliott. “Although the contest has started, the tips can be figured out, so it doesn’t stop people from guessing where he’s already been.”
The contest ends December 19 when all brochures have to be dropped off at the DTP offices, located in the Marigold Centre. From there, the first three brochures picked with all 12 locations identified correctly will win.
Although Darcy is still new to Truro, it’s not taking long for people to recognize him. Elliott says the response from the business community was overwhelming when they introduced him and shared details of the scavenger hunt. Within 30 minutes of getting the word out, Elliott says 12 businesses volunteered to host the giant green reindeer. Since the contest started, the feedback has also been positive and has triggered speculation the scavenger hunt and Darcy will become an annual event.
“The goal of Darcy is to bring something new to our downtown,” said Elliott. “He’s something fun and gets people excited for the holidays. The idea of him moving around the downtown and people looking for him also creates the opportunity for people to discover new stores. It’s a good way to educate people on the businesses in the downtown and while looking for Darcy, they may actually find themselves doing some shopping as well.”
Brent MacDonald with MacQuarries agrees Darcy is a good idea. MacQuarries hosted the reindeer November 28 and 29.
“People definitely notice him,” said MacDonald. “He gets a lot of second looks as people walk by, but this is his first year, so they’re just starting to get used to him. He definitely helps draw people into the store.”
In keeping with the reindeer theme, the DTP also has another promotion running that can also find someone winning a $500 gift certificate for the downtown. Twenty-nine stores are currently authorized to hand out reindeer cards – a coloured card issued by a retailer when a customer spends $10 or more. Once a customer has collected five cards, they can drop them off at one of the participating stores. Every five cards equal one ballot in the draw and people can collect as many sets of five cards they want in an effort to increase their chances.
A draw was made earlier this week and a second draw for the gift certificate will be December 17. The DTP also has a number of gifts provided by each of the participating businesses that will also be given out.
For more information visit www.downtowntruro.ca.