Overview
- The Great Beaver Quest officially went live June 1 and has placed 51 nearly 4-foot beaver sculptures across Old Town Toronto to greet World Cup visitors.
- Organizers say 48 of the beavers reference participating national teams, two welcome the world and one celebrates Old Town, and each statue was hand-painted by a different local artist.
- Each sculpture carries a QR code that links to a free digital scavenger hunt where participants earn points, compete for weekly prizes and enter grand prize drawings.
- Old Town BIA reports several thousand participants so far and expects the installation to help capture part of the roughly 300,000 visitors the city expects for World Cup matches.
- The statues are placed in parks, sidewalks and indoor lobbies near St. Lawrence Market and the Hockey Hall of Fame and will be auctioned for charity after the display ends on Aug. 16, a move organizers say will benefit local businesses and community groups.