A collection of mismatched letters has found its way into 19 downtown Montrose businesses.
Some are large and lighted. Others are small enough to be tucked beside a cash register — or hidden somewhere inside a store. Finding them all is the challenge at the center of the Downtown Letter Hunt, a scavenger hunt created by Debra Walker to encourage people to explore businesses throughout downtown.
Participants collect the letter assigned to each location and unscramble them to reveal a secret phrase. Completed entries can be submitted for a chance to win a share of more than $2,000 in prizes donated by participating businesses.
The hunt has been extended through Oct. 1.
It grew out of the Montrose Artisans Market, another of Walker’s efforts to bring people downtown while creating opportunities for regional artists, craftspeople and other makers.
The market debuted Aug. 1, with efforts by Walker and Kathryn Burke at San Juan Publishing, inside the adjoining spaces at 443 and 445 E. Main St. Walker estimated about 400 people visited throughout the day.
“We had this big event, and I didn’t want it limited,” Walker said. “I didn’t want it to be just our block. I wanted it to be all downtown.”
That thinking led to the letter hunt.
Walker initially recruited 16 businesses. When others asked why they had not been included, she expanded the hunt by adding another word to its mystery phrase. It now includes 19 locations.
Participants visit each business, find its designated letter and write it on an entry sheet. Once they have collected the letters, they rearrange them to solve the phrase.
The prizes include gift cards, lottery tickets and merchandise donated by downtown businesses. Lux Design Boutique contributed a ladies’ night out package valued at about $450, Walker said.
Because some of the prizes include wine and lottery tickets, participants must be at least 21 years old.
For Walker, however, the contest is less about getting people to race through a checklist than giving them a reason to step into businesses they might otherwise pass.
“It’s just a way that we hand the stuff out, we encourage them to go and shop all of downtown,” she said.
The letter hunt is one part of a larger idea taking shape inside the East Main Street building.
The spaces became available after Spirit Bear and a specialty olive oil business moved out. Walker, whose real estate license is held through building owner Ralph Walchle, helps with property management and began thinking about ways to bring people inside.
Her initial idea was to hold a one-day artisans market. The event could fill the vacant space, showcase local creative work and perhaps help a visitor envision a permanent business there.
It was also designed to complement, rather than compete with, the Montrose Farmers Market.
“I told him, ‘Let’s get an event going where we have a Montrose Artisans Market on a Saturday and just get people in here,’” Walker said. “Somebody might come in and envision their business in this space.”
The first event featured about 15 vendors selling and demonstrating a broad range of work.
Cedaredge painter Marko Marino worked in one of the building’s front windows, where visitors could sit and watch him paint. Walker said he completed three original pieces during the event. Artist Mary Pat Ettinger painted in the other window.
Elsewhere in the building, visitors found tamales, food samples, handmade goods and other creations. Walker deliberately sought a variety of vendors and avoided filling the market with too many people offering the same products.
Her definition of an artisan is intentionally broad. It includes fine artists such as Marino and Ettinger, but also bakers, craftspeople, fiber artists and others who make something of their own.
“People that make sourdough bread — I feel that’s art,” Walker said. “It’s not necessarily just creating a picture. Anything creative.”
The response to the August market encouraged Walker to schedule another for Sept. 5. The second market is expected to include about 25 vendors, up from approximately 15 at the first event.
Walker said she may have to cap participation at 25 because of the available indoor space.
The vendor lineup is expected to include fine art, handmade goods, baked products, coffee, food and fiber products. Walker was also working with the city in hopes of using parking spaces beside the building for food vendors while keeping the street open to traffic.
One participating ranch produces items from alpaca fiber, and Walker hoped to bring alpacas to the event if the necessary arrangements and city approval could be secured.
The growing list of vendors reflects the demand Walker sees for places where local creators can show and sell their work.
“My whole thought is bringing community and art together,” she said.
The setting provides much of the market’s atmosphere.
The adjoining spaces at 443 and 445 E. Main St. feature exposed brick, Brazilian cherry floors and large front windows that allow artists to work in view of people passing along Main Street. Pieces of original ceiling tile preserved inside offer a glimpse of the building’s past.
Walker has plenty of ideas for what the property could eventually become, including studio and classroom space where artists could work, teach and sell their creations. She envisions areas for pottery, sewing and other creative work, along with murals and space for small community events.
Those ideas remain possibilities, not settled plans. For now, the building is serving as a temporary gathering place for artists and the community while Walker and Wackley consider its future.
The artisans market has already shown that the vacant storefront can draw people. The letter hunt extends that energy beyond the building and into the wider downtown district.
Walker said nearby businesses offered their own promotions during the first market. The scavenger hunt was her way of ensuring businesses on other blocks could also benefit.
The result is an event that asks people to do something simple: walk into a store, look around and find a letter.
Along the way, they may meet a business owner, see something they did not know was sold downtown or discover a shop they want to visit again.
“It’s just to support all of the businesses and get people in there,” Walker said.
The Montrose Artisans Market is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 5 at 443 and 445 E. Main St. Admission is free. The Downtown Letter Hunt continues through Oct. 1.
