Photo provided by Michigan Tech University The Parade of Nations logo for 2020 was designed by Linnea Oja of Hancock, the 2020 winner of the annual Parade of Nations logo competition.

The COVID-19 pandemic has cost the world a lot in 2020, including the annual opportunity Copper Country takes to celebrate the diverse background of cultures.

“The physical parade that happens annually is not taking place this year, nor is the multicultural festival,” said Will Schuette, one of the Parade of Nations organizers.

Instead, they have organized a scavenger hunt, an activity they believe will still be fun and allow broad participation, but in a way that is safe during the pandemic.

Nine teams developed sets of clues. The first clues will be posted on the website on Saturday at noon. Those clues lead to clues hidden by parade staff around Houghton as QR codes that can be scanned with a smartphone.

“That way people don’t have to actually physically touch anything,” Schuett said.

Scanning the code will give another clue, which should be deciphered for the answer.

To help motivate hunters, there are first, second and third-place prizes, too. A form to submit the answers will be on the Parade of Nations website (https://www.mtu.edu/international/events/parade-nations), and the first to solve the clues wins.

“It will be interesting to see how fast people can complete it,” Schuett said. “We have no idea how long it’s actually going to take.”

The hunt will be active for two weeks, and then, on Sept. 19 at 2 p.m., there will be a driving awards ceremony, where people can drive through the roundabout near the husky statue on Michigan Tech’s campus. There will be gift packs and giveaways that were planned for the canceled multicultural festival that normally follows the parade.

The different hunts vary in difficulty, from very easy to very difficult.

“There’s one hunt in particular… I would consider it like a triple-black diamond if you were a skier,” Schuett said.

The staff can track how many times each QR code has been scanned, so if one seems to be proving too difficult, they may clarify or add to the clues.