Lucky the Leprechaun returns to Mayfield Village for walking and riddles
Mar. 5—Lucky the Leprechaun has made a trail in Mayfield Village yet again, and it means the return of riddles and trails spread throughout the village.
Through March 16, Mayfield Village in partnership with Mayfield Cuyahoga Public Library, located at 500 SOM Center Road, will have a trail running along the Bruce Rinker Greenway Trail devoted to Lucky the Leprechaun, with eight riddles leading them to secret locations along the trail.
Once at those locations a letter will be discovered, and once players collect all the letters they can unscramble the password. During the final party, everyone that sent in their completed work to the email provided on the riddle sheet will be entered for a raffle to win a Parkview Pool Household Pass for 2024.
Village Parks and Recreation Director Shane McAvinew said that he started the tradition as a way to give families a chance to get outside while engaging their brains at the same time as their legs.
Participants get the riddles either from the village Recreation Department at 6622 Wilson Mills Road, or from the library, and afterwards they have to solve them to find the next treasure.
"It's a great way for people to get out of the house and participate in a scavenger hunt," McAvinew said. "We partnered with the Mayfield Cuyahoga County Library, so everyone is open to attend. It's not just residents, but we get a lot of people from all over Cuyahoga County to come into the area and partake in it.
"People like to take their pictures with everything," McAvinew said. "If you go through the recreation trail you will be able to identify them from afar because we have the areas decorated. Each spot has a bucket where you can get a St. Patrick day necklace or a coin or something when you go there so kids will actually be able to collect those items on the trail."
He said that the party that will be held on March 16 at the library will be a chance for people to share their riddles and pictures of themselves along the trail.
McAvinew likes to partner with local businesses and community organizations to help build community connections. He said in the past they have worked with the library but on a smaller scale. This year he wants to get people more involved in the library and hopes this trail will lead people inside the library as well.
"In the past we collaborated on a smaller scale," McAvinew said. "They already have a storyboard walk going on the trail. So, when I first thought of the idea a few years back, it came to me that the library would be an ideal partner and then the library is right off the trail, so it makes sense to collaborate with them on that.
"It was a match, and it got people into the library, that's part of the whole thing. When we partner with each other we try and look at what helps each other out."
McAvinew said that last year's attendance was strong, and he enjoyed seeing people posting pictures of their progress. He said he never expected the trail to draw so many people and the support he's seen from parents have helped drive the popularity.
"Usually what you'll see is people will start posting their pictures which is really cool," McAvinew said. "You'll see whole families out, or multiple families out together.
"It's just really neat, it was never meant to be a gigantic special type of program, it was meant to be small," he added. "We wanted people to come out, but it was the parents facilitating the program."
More information on the trail and its riddles can be found at the Parks and Recreation Department's website, mayfieldvillage.activityreg.com, or by calling 440-461-5163.
