There seems to be some serious scavenging going on in our city, but not the nocturnal wildlife kind that usually starts around this time of year.

This week we're excited about two fun scavenger hunts in and around Manchester. The first, of course, involves Mayor Ted Gatsas. While we waited for the start of the Memorial Day Parade last week, we saw two young women frantically wave him over to the side of Elm Street to have their photo taken with him. Turns out they were not part of the mayor's fan club, but students at The Derryfield School on a mission to complete the first round of the school's annual Senior Scavenger Hunt.

This is the fourth year seniors at the private school in Manchester's North End have been given lists of photos they must appear in as part of this fun competition. It would have been too easy just to have any old photo with Gatsas on the scavenger hunt list. Running into Gatsas is as easy as running into a Dunkin' Donuts in this town. He's everywhere! So to make it more difficult, the picture with Gatsas had to be at the parade. We wonder how many times he had to jog to the side of the parade route to accommodate the students.

Derryfield teacher and Senior Class Advisor Jeffrey Cousineau said he created the school-sanctioned activity to replace Assassin, a student-run game involving water pistols that has become popular and a bit dangerous for high school seniors in the area. Cousineau has really perfected the Senior Scavenger Hunt over the years and now has an elaborate set of rules and a point system that make for a very challenging, but fun way for his seniors to wrap up their time at Derryfield.

If you happen upon any teenagers jumping in a public fountain, creating a living recreation of KISS' Dressed to Kill album, stalking WMUR's Erin Fehlau, or anything else out of the ordinary today, you shouldn't be afraid. But you should offer to help them get their shot!

This year's competition started Memorial Day Weekend and runs through tomorrow. Students, in teams of two or three, are eliminated over several rounds and the winning team from each round gets a gift card.

Now for the grown-ups

Now for all of you jealous adults wishing you had a fun scavenger hunt to participate in, we've learned of one that could earn you $10,000, a brand-new kitchen, or one of several other prizes. Frisella and Bligh's Amazing Home Race takes place this Saturday at the Bedford Macy's parking lot.

Brought to you by Bedford's Mary Bligh and Manchester's Tiffany Frisella — two Realtors at Keller Williams Metropolitan — this scavenger hunt will send teams of two to open houses across Manchester and Bedford where they will find clues to help them answer questions.

Bligh and Frisella were inspired to organize the competition after learning about a similar one at a Realtor convention in Texas. “It was a fresh and new idea not seen in this part of the country,” Bligh said.

Technology plays a big role in this hunt. Questions are asked and answered through text messages. Points are given based on the number of times it takes to answer correctly and how quickly the race is completed. But, don't even think about speeding! The Google-based program can determine whether teams are obeying the speed limit by tracking how quickly they are able to get to each location in the challenge. Speeders will be disqualified, Bligh said.

The event is free to enter, but donations will be collected for the Manchester Boys and Girls Club. There will also be a post-challenge block party with entertainment and food from Carrabas.

Visit www.amazinghomeracenh.com to register.

Helping us with our history

If you have any interesting Manchester-area photos, say from the 1800s through 1939, you might want to bring them to the Manchester Historic Association's Millyard Museum one day this week. The MHA and the New Hampshire Union Leader will be producing a Manchester Memories book of such photos and your favorites might be picked for inclusion. Photo-scanning sessions will be held Tuesday, 2 to 5 p.m.; and both Thursday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, go to www.Manchester.PictorialBook.com.

Counting calories

The calorie count on downtown will soon be even higher as Granite State Candy Shoppe opens a new location at 832 Elm St. The fine people of Concord have enjoyed the Bart Family's homemade candy, nuts, fudge and ice cream (made with local milk) since 1927. Now it's the Queen City's turn to indulge! We hear they plan to open in mid-July, but the photo of a waffle cone dipped in chocolate and covered in M&Ms on their Facebook page has us hoping they'll open sooner. Their website says they're hiring a retail store manager for the new location. Sadly, no taster positions are available.

NH356.org Event of the Week

If you like big yard sales, then we suggest you check out the Amoskeag Community Volunteers annual yard sale this Saturday and Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., at 934 Lake Shore Road. Full disclosure, Katie is a member of Amoskeag Community Volunteers, a nonprofit club dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service. Last year, the club raised $2,500 at the yard sale for local causes and community organizations.

The group is still looking for donations to their yard sale. If you have any items you would like to donate to the cause, call 623-8438.

If you have an interesting item for Scene in Manchester, email it to scene@unionleader.com.