Get ready to walk! Coronado’s first Uptown Walkabout takes place this Saturday, October 5, 2024 from 10 am to 2 pm. The walkabout is a scavenger hunt designed to attract shoppers to the uptown area of Coronado.
How Uptown Coronado Walkabout Works
You will start the Uptown Coronado Walkabout by picking up a map at either Shore Duty or PAWS of Coronado. Scavenger hunters are welcome to lock their bike near PAWS or take advantage of the free parking. Marilyn Klisser, owner of Salon On First, is spearheading the event. She shared, “There is free parking at the Ferry Landing parking lot for the event. Participants will pick up their map at one of two locations and then they head to each of the 16 businesses on the map. At each place they visit, they’ll have to either find or do something, and then they’ll get a star on their map for that business. When they have all the stars on their map, they can turn it in to the drawing for prizes.”
Marilyn emphasizes that this is not a race, and the raffle tickets will be given upon completion. The goal is to not be in and out quickly, but really get to know the uptown businesses better! Examples of what you can expect to find on the hunt include cinnamon roll bites at Shore Duty, 15% off coupons at Sea La Vie Living, olive oil tasting at VomFASS, champagne sips at Jolie, pet name suggestions for PAWS, free braids and hair tinsel at Salon On First.
Completing the Scavenger Hunt
Completed maps can be returned to Coronado Tasting Room. The three prizes being raffled are an assortment of gift cards to the uptown Coronado businesses. These are in the amount of $1500, $750, and $500. Marilyn shares, “there will be an after party at Coronado Tasting Room. DJ TeeLynn will be there and she is awesome. She’s an amazing musician and sings all over town. There will also be games and activities for the kids during that time. It’s very family friendly fun!”
Marilyn is really excited for the experience that the scavenger hunters will have. She emphasizes the walkability of Coronado and how this is an active way to spend an afternoon. She adds, “Participants are checking out a really cool part of town – maybe somewhere they’re not used to going.”
A Community Rallies Uptown Coronado
The event started as a dream by Marilyn. “I was at a female speed networking event. Everyone had to say what their goal or wish is. I explained, in front of the whole group, that I would love to get more people over to the uptown side of the island. Afterwards, Colleen [owner of VomFASS and Coronado Tasting Room] said, ‘I feel exactly the same.’ I said, ‘OK well let’s do something about it!’”
The two got together over coffee and the brainstorming sparks flew. Marilyn and her husband Brad own South Park Yoga. Marilyn shares, “South Park has a business walkabout that they’ve been doing for many years. We participated in it and it was very successful. A lot of us in the community came together and we got a ton of new students. It was amazing! I didn’t think that anything like that had ever been done in Coronado, so I thought we should do. When I met up with Colleen and I told her about the idea, she was all for it!”
Bringing Life to a Dream
In addition to Colleen, Marilyn expresses her gratitude for the many people involved in the event. She credits Coronado author Belinda Jones for helping to spread the word and giving advice during the planning phase. “She wrote a whole article based on my Uptown Coronado Walkabout idea and helped put together the flyer. She’s also been there to provide guidance.” In addition, Marilyn is grateful for the Coronado Chamber of Commerce. “This is the first event of this scale I’ve ever done in my life and so it’s been nice to have the support.”
Another helping hand came from Jennifer Stein, Sr. Manager of Fund Development at PAWS. “We’ve been passing out flyers and now we have a banner on Orange Ave., which is really cool. The City of Coronado and Jennifer helped us to get the banner on Orange.”
Participating Locations
Stop off at all 16 uptown Coronado businesses to enter into the raffle!
- Coronado Mercantile
- Coronado Tasting Room
- Shore Duty
- BE Polished
- Coronado Hardware
- PAWS of Coronado
- Boney’s Bayside Market
- Captain Coronado // Sweet Life
- Nicky Rottens
- La Camisa
- Sea Le Vie
- Roundhouse Fitness
- Miss Match
- Coronado Coffee Company
- Jolie Coronado
- Salon On First
Be sure to post during the event and tag @uptowncoronadowalkabout
