Eau Claire North High School’s DECA Club is sponsoring an all-ages “diamond” scavenger hunt throughout downtown Eau Claire that will take place Dec. 4-12. DECA student officers and Jim Maier, head of North’s Marketing & DECA, began planning in July. “We came up with the idea of doing it downtown to get as many people as possible to check out small businesses between Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years,” Maier said. The students strategized advertising and media for the event, which gave them a glimpse into what local business owners do on a regular basis. “We’ve done local events like this before: medallion and golf ball hunts, basically Easter egg hunts for adults, but only about 70 people were able to do those,” Maier explained. This time around, the goal is to have 200-500 people participate. Anyone is welcome, especially families shopping downtown, high school and college students, and people who work downtown. As of Nov. 16, DECA had 28 sponsors with a goal of having 30 by the event. The businesses have donated a combined $1,000-2,000 worth of prizes. The diamonds are worth anywhere between $25-100 or more, and can be found both in and outside local business locations. Prizes consist of gift cards and certificates, free coupons, and cash. Clues will be published on the North DECA website, which will lead participants to a variety of downtown businesses to discover these prizes. On Saturday, Dec. 8, hourly bonus clues will be given out from 12-3pm at The Goat Coffee House on Water Street and The Plus on Barstow Street. The Downtown DECA “Diamond” Hunt will take place Dec. 4-12 in downtown Eau Claire. Clues will be posted along with more information at bit.ly/2A9nQS1. –Breana Good