STROUDSBURG, Pa. — Walking along Main Street in Stroudsburg, you'll notice many storefronts have something in common—large Christmas ornaments created by local artists.
But they're not just decoration. The ornaments are part of a new scavenger hunt put on by the artist organization GO Collaborative.
"We let them do their own thing. They depict winter scenes, holidays, and things wintry, anything Christmasy," said Jody Singer, the artist director for GO Collaborative.
There are 26 ornaments in total, but you only need to find 18. Each one has a card attached to it with the artist's name and a number. The number coincides with a letter in the alphabet.
If you can figure out the phrase, you'll be entered to win a $50 gift card.
A new winner will be chosen every month until February.
Pocono Soap is one of the shops participating.
"It just started, and already this weekend, I can't even tell you how many people wanted a snowman map or were doing the scavenger hunt for the ornaments. It's so fun, and it gets people in, and honestly, when you search around town, you get to see things that you normally maybe overlook," said Tina Matauic, the production manager at Pocono Soap.
All the ornaments can be found at businesses in downtown Stroudsburg. Those who put them up say the idea is to encourage people to visit the local shops.
"It would get them to interact more with the business owners and the people who are working in the businesses, and, you know, shop. We have all these wonderful businesses in downtown Stroudsburg to shop at, so that's really the whole point, " Singer said.
"It's something new that I haven't seen in Stroudsburg," said Natacha Guzman, the lead barista at 7th Street Coffee. "The customers, the community, they come in here, and they literally see our drinks, and they come and see the ball, so it's really nice."
For more information on the scavenger hunt or where to submit the phrase, click here.