Renton to celebrate iconic 700-pound rooftop dragon with April scavenger hunt

As the home of the Wizards of the Coast headquarters, the City of Renton has never been shy about its love of dragons, and starting on Friday, April 1, it will celebrate that with a dragon-centric scavenger hunt.

There be dragons in Renton … no, seriously

The hunt will kick off as part of Renton’s yearly “Hatch Day” celebration, commemorating the 2019 unveiling of Erasmus, the city’s 710-pound metal dragon perched atop a 100-plus-year-old building downtown.

Erasmus was the result of three years of work gathering funds, commissioning a group of local artists, working with the building’s owner, and finally, building the giant dragon itself.

This year’s Hatch Day will task hunters with finding 10 different dragons stashed around downtown Renton “along the path to visit their rooftop friend on the corner of South 3rd and Wells Ave South.”

Dungeons & Dragons experiencing massive revival

You can download an official Hatch Day scorecard to keep track of your hunt here, or pick up a physical scorecard at Common Ground Cupcake & Coffee, Sparkle Gifts & Whatnot, or Wyldwood Creative. Once you complete the scorecard with each dragon’s corresponding number, email it to arts@rentonwa.gov by 12 p.m. on April 12 to be entered into a prize drawing. Winners will be announced the following day.

There will also be a separate contest rewarding the best selfies with dragons during the hunt. Send any and all pictures to arts@rentonwa.gov with “Dragon Selfie” in the subject line to enter.  All entries will be considered, and will be judged based on “creativity, thoughtfulness, display of effort, and general cuteness.” Three winners — which will be announced on Wednesday, April 13 — will each get a $25 gift card for the downtown business of their choosing.

You can check out more details on Renton’s Hatch Day festivities at this link.

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