Here at Airdrie Public Library, we enjoy summer and try to cram as much into the season as we can.
Some of the many ways we do this is through programs like our Summer Reading Club, Summer Stories in the Park, and a brief event called Caching Out! Running from July 15 to 17 for ages 13 to 18, participants get to experience a Victorian-era game called letterboxing, or, as we are calling it, caching.
It’s important to note that caching is not the same as geocaching, where GPS and land coordinates are used to find a hidden object. Instead, caching participants decipher written clues to find a hidden box.
Letterboxing started in Dartmoor, Devon, England in 1854, when James Perrott – a well-known moor guide – began leaving cards in a hidden bottle for visitors to find. The activity became so popular with hikers that many started leaving letters or postcards in a box alongside the trail, hence the name letterbox.
The first letterboxes were so well hidden that only the most serious of hikers could find them.
Today, there are more than 100 of these boxes scattered around Dartmoor, many containing clever clues to locate the next box.
Our version of these letterboxes is hidden in three locations around Airdrie. But here’s the catch; you only have three days to find them before we remove them.
On July 15, go to our website and look under the Virtual Events tab to find literary-based clues to help you decipher the locations of all three caches. Each site will contain a small plastic tub with prizes, including a ballot you take with you to record your name and contact info.
Once you’ve located all three caches, bring the ballots into the library for a chance to win prizes, including a HCAM10 waterproof camera.
You can either find the caches in one day or three, it’s up to you, but have fun following the clues and discovering more about the city we live in (hint, hint).
For more information on APL programs and services visit www.airdrepubliclibrary.ca
