Eagle Medallion Hunt returns this week for 2023 Wichita Riverfest with $1,000 prize
The Wichita Riverfest is about to start again, and so is The Eagle Medallion Hunt — a popular annual contest that challenges Wichitans to search parks and sift through underbrush in search of a medallion worth $1,000.
The hunt launches Thursday — the day before the start of the 51st annual Wichita Riverfest. It’s a Riverfest tradition that offers up cryptic clues meant to lead players to a 2-inch plastic coin hidden on public property in Sedgwick County. The person who decodes the clues and finds the medallion first gets $1,000.
This year’s Wichita Riverfest opens on Friday and runs through June 10. The first Medallion Hunt clue will be released at 7 a.m. on Thursday, and a new clue will follow every morning through Thursday, June 8, (or until the medallion is found). The clues can be found at kansas.com and they’ll also be posted around 11 a.m. each day near the front doors of the Wichita Eagle newsroom at 330 N. Mead. They won’t run in the print edition of the paper.
The contest will end at midnight on Thursday, June 8, or whenever the medallion is found.
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Last year, the Medallion was found by experienced hunters Bryan Edwards and Justin Selby, who worked as a team and discovered the Medallion after reading the eighth and final clue. It was stuck to the bottom of a wooden bench along a nature trail at Idlewild Park next to the Oaklawn neighborhood. Although Edwards and Selby worked as a team, the contest could have only one winner, and it was Edwards.
Hunters are encouraged to keep in mind that no Medallion Hunt clues, nor the hiding place, require entry onto private property.
This is the 48th anniversary of the Medallion Hunt, which is nearly as old as the Riverfest itself.
Whoever finds the medallion should call 316-268-6200 during normal business hours, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and leave a detailed description of where the Medallion was found as well as contact information. The Medallion must be returned to The Eagle by 3 p.m. on Friday, June 9, or no one wins the prize.
The contest is open to residents of Kansas who are at least 18 years old as of June 1, 2023. Employees of The Wichita Eagle, the McClatchy Company, Wichita Festivals Inc., board members of Wichita Festivals Inc., and immediate family members of any of those groups, are not eligible to participate.
For full contest rules, visit kansas.com/riverfest
