Two Interlake communities found a playful way to bring families together this summer — through dragon and dinosaur hunts that had kids racing through parks, yards and sidewalks in search of hidden treasures.
In Stonewall, Michael and Chelsea Felske launched the Stonewall Dragon Hunt after Michael spotted a Facebook post from someone in the U.S. doing something similar.
“I thought it would be a neat idea and hoped it would get kids out and working together too,” he said.
Since then, the couple — often with their children in tow — has made and hidden nearly 300 dragons around town.
“Me and my wife make them mostly ourselves, and she helps when I’m away for work,” Felske said. “Then we go out and hide them with the kids.”
Community member Becky also pitched in during Quarry Days, creating and hiding a few dragons of her own.
The hunt quickly grew into something bigger than Felske expected.
“I was thinking it would be a few times and be done with it or when I had leftovers to make them,” he said.
Instead, families eagerly followed along online, waiting for posts announcing when new dragons had been hidden. Parents have told him their kids couldn’t wait to head outdoors.
One of the most memorable moments came when the family hid the first large dragon on a rainy day.
“We got asked to hold off, but the kids said, ‘Let’s go.’ The family that found it told us they would normally just stay inside, but that day they went out, got wet and used their rain jackets,” Felske recalled. “That’s what makes it special — seeing families get outside together.”
The hunt even inspired a small fundraiser. After helping organize a daycare hunt, a supporter decided to raise $100 to keep the activity going.
“She was just going to give away a little dragon, so we donated the big one to help her out,” Felske said.
Felske said the plan is to continue the dragon hunt for as long as the community shows interest. He’s already thinking about introducing something new next year to keep it fresh. For those who want to pitch in, he welcomes help.
“If others want to help and they’ve got a printer, I can send them the file,” he said. “Or they can donate filament in their favourite colour and we’ll use it for the hunt.”
In nearby Teulon, Krystal Brennan, a cousin of Chelsea Felske, took the idea in a prehistoric direction with her Dinosaur Hunt. Inspired by the success of the Stonewall dragons, she teamed up with her “dinosaur helper” Gary Smaldon to begin hiding toys around town.
“When I first started this, I thought, OK, I’ll get 40 dinosaurs from Chelsea and Michael and I’d make a Facebook page called the Teulon Dinosaur Hunters,” Brennan said. “I went out and hid 20 dinosaurs the first night, and the next day all 20 were gone.”
With demand outpacing supply, Brennan invested in a 3D printer so she could produce enough dinosaurs to keep the game alive. By the end of summer, she had hidden about 400 dinosaurs — usually between 20 and 30 a night.
The response from families has been overwhelming.
“Parents message me and tell me how very happy their kids are going on a dinosaur hunt before going to daycare,” Brennan said. “The parents enjoy it just as much as the kids do. The mayor of Teulon even sent me a message telling me how wonderful this is for the community.”
She said she often sits in town just to watch children discover the hidden dinosaurs.
“The smiles on their faces put a smile on our faces. They are so excited, jumping up and down.”
Brennan balances the project with her shift-work schedule but says the joy it brings to kids makes it worth the effort. She plans to continue hiding dinosaurs as long as the weather allows, then shift to seasonal hunts through the winter — starting with a Halloween-themed week in late October.
Her main goal, she said, is simple: to bring people outside together.
“Everybody enjoys it, and everybody gets out into the community,” she said.
For families new to the activity, Brennan encourages them to join the Facebook page and get involved.
“The object of the game is we, the Dinosaur Hiders, go out and hide dinosaurs, then the Dinosaur Hunters go out and look for dinosaurs. Absolutely, find one or two, take them home, keep a treasure you found. But if you find multiples, I would love if kids and adults got into the game and re-hid dinosaurs. Keep the game going.”
The Town of Stonewall publicly thanked the organizers online, noting how the creativity and effort helped bring residents together. Comments from parents echoed the sentiment, with many saying the hunts created lasting memories for both kids and adults.
As dragons and dinosaurs continue to roam Stonewall and Teulon, the organizers hope the hunts will remain a summer tradition — blending adventure, imagination and community spirit.
