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Get outdoors and win prizes too with Roam Humboldt initiative

To get people outside and reconnecting with Humboldt’s parks, Humboldt’s Community and Leisure Services is meeting people where they’re at: their phones. Community and Leisure Services has developed Roam Humboldt within the mobile app SideQuest.
File photo.

To get people outside and reconnecting with Humboldt’s parks, Humboldt’s Community and Leisure Services is meeting people where they’re at: their phones.

Community and Leisure Services has developed Roam Humboldt within the mobile app SideQuest. The app tracks user visits to different locations throughout the city, which in turn awards tokens and the opportunity to win prizes, said Jocelyn Doetzel, programming and special events manager with Leisure Services.

The awards program started on July 8 and runs through August 30.

“Some parks people might not have ever visited. It will give them a chance to go and check out the parks,” Doetzel said. “We all know they're there, but we wanted to put the word out that they're still there.”

Prizes still available include single admission tickets to Humboldt Uniplex recreation facilities, and raffle tickets for six-pack leisure passes and wireless headphones to be given away at the end of August. Odds for people to win in the raffle increase with the number of tokens they collect across Roam Humboldt’s 30 locations.

Locations include community parks, the Humboldt Aqua Centre, fitness room, Elgar Petersen Concourse and more.

One location that really stands out for Doetzel is Saint Elizabeth’s Park, given its disc golf course.

“People do use it, but we want it to have more traffic,” she said. “It's a really beautiful park, and we want people to use it.”

The app – which Doetzel said is in its developmental stages – has attracted about 40 players since its Humboldt launch in July. Even if they’re just in town for a couple of days, Doetzel said she hopes people will use the app to help them experience Humboldt.