The staff at the Bellaire Puritas Development Corporation (BPDC) have come up with a fun and socially distant way to engage and entertain West Park residents while also building some community pride.

BPDC community outreach coordinator Lindsay Wheeler developed Challenge West Park—a four-week virtual scavenger hunt and activities contest that is designed to keep residents thinking and entertained.

“I was tasked with coming up with a way to engage our community in a safe and positive way, so we used our creativity to come up with this unique virtual game,” says Wheeler. “We wanted to think of ways to pull the community in and maybe have a new experience.”

Challenge West Park kicks off today, Monday, July 20 with a list of fun tasks. Wheeler says participants each week will be given a list of 10 to 15 new virtual, scavenger hunt-style challenges that will task players with locating objects around the neighborhood, creating dances and songs, participating in community efforts, checking into a location or solving a riddle.

Participants will compete for points to win prizes at the end of the challenge.

To play, residents must download the GooseChase app , where they will log in to find the challenges for the week.

Teams and players can choose the challenges, which list the complexity and skill requirements. Teams can then send their completed challenges through the app, compare themselves to other teams, and check out the leader board.

Wheeler says they’ve designed the challenges so that people of all physical abilities and ages can all play.

For instance, she says one of the first challenges asks player to choose three West Park businesses and review them through Google and the GooseChase app. “Teams win points for creativity,” she says. “And you can get bonus points for three likes on each review.”

Wheeler based another challenge on TikTok’s fake DJ challenge. In West Park’s DJ at Home challenge, participants pretend they are spinning tunes as DJs—using props for the turntables and equipment.

“Some people use pots and pans, or cups, or whatever,” she explains. “Choose whatever song you want and act as a DJ. Pan out to your audience, which can be dogs and cats, babies, or blow up dolls.”

Wheeler even made her own DJ challenge to demonstrate how fun the task is.

Wheeler says many West Park organizations and businesses have already put together teams, including several resident block clubs, dance groups from area schools, John Marshall School of Information Technology, Pull-A-Part Used Auto Parts, and PPG Industries.

Registration fees for the challenge are based on a sliding scale—ranging from free to a suggested $10 and up. Register for Challenge West Park here.

To cap off the first week of Challenge West Park, BPDC and ward 16 councilperson Brian Kazy are hosting a free drive-in movie night on Saturday, July 25 behind Fairwood Marc’s Plaza, 13693 Lorain Ave. “Hidden Figures” will begin at dusk behind Marc's, on the south side of the building, and cars will be arranged in every other space to allow for social distancing.