ANTIGO, WI — Antigo Visual Arts (AVA) recently wrapped up its 2nd Annual Antigo Visual Arts Scavenger Hunt, a community event created in collaboration with downtown Antigo businesses to bring art, creativity and exploration together throughout the downtown district.
The 2026 Scavenger Hunt featured 36 participating downtown businesses and 32 local artists, making this year’s event even larger than its inaugural year. Each participating artist created an original piece of artwork based on a theme selected by one of AVA’s artists, Madison Taylor. The artwork was then displayed throughout downtown, giving community members and visitors an opportunity to explore local businesses while searching for each numbered piece.
Participants received a scavenger hunt form and were challenged to find all of the artwork, identify the business where each piece was located, and provide a description of each artwork. Participants also had the opportunity to vote for their favorite piece, resulting in four Viewers’ Choice awards for the artists.
After all votes were counted, the 2026 Scavenger Hunt Viewers’ Choice winners were:
1st Place: Vicki Eldridge, Mushrooms
2nd Place: Kim Schoenrock, Dragon Eye
3rd Place: Christine Shepherd, Garden Gate
4th Place: Beatle Gmeiner, Humpty Dumpty
In addition to recognizing the artists, four participants who successfully completed the scavenger hunt were selected in a random drawing for cash prizes. The 2026 Hunter winners were:
1st Place: Molly Messer — $250
2nd Place: Aimee Demerath — $100
3rd Place: Kathy Ullman — $100
4th Place: Ezra Schwarz — $50
The event provided an opportunity for people of all ages to experience local art while discovering businesses throughout downtown Antigo. Carol Caffero, a downtown business owner and participating business, said she especially enjoyed seeing families take part in the event together.
“People would come in with their grandkids, and I’d give them the scavenger hunt papers and explain what was going on. Then they’d head out and have fun finding the artwork. People would even come in and ask where some of the pieces were, and I’d give them little clues without telling them exactly where to find them. It was a really nice family event and a great way to get people exploring downtown.”
Caffero said she also heard from visitors who were surprised by how many businesses and places there were to discover throughout downtown.
AVA would like to thank all 32 artists who created and shared their artwork, the 36 downtown businesses that participated and welcomed scavenger hunt participants, and everyone who picked up a form, searched for artwork, explored downtown, and cast a vote.
Special recognition goes to AVA’s Marie Benes, who spearheaded the Scavenger Hunt and helped bring the event together.
“Events like the Scavenger Hunt are a wonderful way to bring art out into the community,” said Danna Gabriel, President of Antigo Visual Arts. “It gives our artists an opportunity to share their creativity, while also encouraging people to get out, explore downtown and support our local businesses. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped make this year’s event such a success.”
The Scavenger Hunt has quickly become a favorite summer community activity, and AVA looks forward to bringing the event back for its 3rd Annual Scavenger Hunt in 2027.
Antigo Visual Arts thanks everyone who participated and helped make the 2026 Scavenger Hunt a celebration of creativity, community and downtown Antigo.