Storm brewing as the Berlin Barnstorm commences
The merchants have been holding this event since 2006. Each of the participating businesses will hide a small barn somewhere in their shops. Participants will try to find as many barns as they can before the event is over. Tourists and locals must locate the barns to be entered in the grand prize drawing and the more barns found, the more tickets in the drawing.
Each of the merchants has donated a $25 gift card for the drawing. In addition, each merchant has donated an item to be placed in the grand prize basket, which has an estimated value of $700.
Michelle Hysong, of Orme Hardware, said that the Berlin Barnstorm is pretty exciting and that they host the Barnstorm because it gets rid of the winter doldrums and welcomes spring. "It just seems like a lot of fun and the tourists seem to enjoy it and so do the locals," said Hysong.
"Something like this turns into a lot of fun," said Eli "Small" Hochstetler, president of the Main Street Merchants and owner of the Gospel Book Store. Hochstetler said the idea behind the Barnstorm is that when participants come in and look for the little red barn, they will see something that they had no idea the store had in stock.
Hysong said that they have around 15 new businesses this year and every year it keeps growing. "I am just excited and everyone has really helped out. There seems to be a good buzz about it so I think it will go well," said Hysong.
If participants think that they can just ask around to find the locations of the barns, think again. This year the merchants have come up with a few tricks to ensure it will take more than a question to find these barns. Hochstetler said, "These tourists have become pretty smart and they ask each other so the stores are getting much smarter. They are changing the location at different times throughout the day."
This event will be a great time and allow people to see what the merchants have available to them. Each business will have specific specials throughout the day. This event is just as much fun for the merchants as it is for the tourists and locals. "It is one of those things that we want to do to help the tourists understand who we are and that we have a lot to offer and a lot of fun doing the event," said Hochstetler.
The Berlin Barnstorm will take place Saturday, April 27. The event begins when the businesses open, most around 9 a.m. and the event will continue until 3 p.m. At 4 p.m., the drawing will begin at the German Village stage.