On Saturday Oct. 4, I was able to participate in an interesting event for charity, the GlowBash 5K Scavenger Hunt. This event is one that is completely different from many of the walks that raise money for charity and awareness. This consists of a 5K and a scavenger hunt during the nighttime. The participants are given different things that light up like necklaces, glasses, headbands, hairbands, bracelets, hats made entirely of glow sticks, and anything else that lights up so that drivers can see the participants as they walk through Channelside in the dark, and they are given a list with 11 riddles that they have to figure out and photo document them with their cameras. They then can show it as proof that they did complete the clues.

  The event took place in Channelside at Fergs Bar and Grill across the street from the Amalie Arena, formerly known as the Tampa Bay Times Forum. It started at 7 p.m. and ended around 11 p.m. and right after all the teams have finished there is a big GlowBash party.

  The great thing about this event was that anyone can participate whether a runner or not, this event was for everyone big and small.

  People could register for this event as an individual but when I showed up to the event everyone seemed to be with a team. Teams could be formed with a minimum of two people and a maximum of however many friends and family members you can round up.

  The price for this event was $85 a person or $35 if you got the tickets from Groupon. The price of the ticket went to local charities and the packet pickup went to the Ronald McDonald House.

  For the event in Tampa, the charity GlowBash donated to was the Wounded Warriors fund. The packet at pick up included a shirt, your glowing items and numbers for you and your team.

  I arrived at the event around 5 p.m. and by 6 p.m. I saw so many people, as well as a barbecue food truck, tables set up for the Ronald McDonald House, campGladiator and the sign in table with a disc jockey playing music while everyone bought their packets and any extra accessories they offered like wigs and neon skirts. The event sold out, totaling 520 people, almost reaching their 600 people limit.

  I was able to speak to the creator of this event, Sara Chiappone, and ask her questions about the event.

  Chiappone created this event in 2012 in Phoenix, Arizona, when she got the idea to help charities. Her husband told her to find something she liked to do and find a way to raise money. After her husband said this she began thinking of what she loved to do; “I absolutely love running, and I run 20 to 25 miles, but I didn’t want to just do a run, I wanted to do something different and fun for everyone.”

  The glow scavenger hunt idea came from her brainstorming, “people love scavenger hunts and they love the glow theme, so I just decided to put them together,” she added. The race part also makes it more fun and challenging. The GlowBash 5K goes on in Chicago, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Hawaii, and St. Petersburg.

  Chiappone says that there have been many times that the weather prevents a lot of people from showing up to the events, “I remember one time in Hawaii, when it started to drizzle and it resulted in only 100 people showing up, but we still had the event and donated to some local charities.”

  Thankfully, the day of the event in Tampa was a beautiful day for the event to take place. Many runners commented saying that the weather was the most ideal for a run because it wasn’t too hot or too cold and there wasn’t a hint of rain.

  The event was a complete success and everyone, including myself, really got into the vibe and had a great time. When it comes back to Tampa, I definitely want to do it again because it was a lot of fun.