From Monday, Nov. 20, to Dec. 4, 23 participating Medford businesses will stamp "Downtown Quest" game cards to help celebrate Small Business Saturday, Nov. 25. Players need to visit five of the businesses to complete the game. No purchase is necessary. Look for balloons and window posters that designate participating businesses.

From beads and boutiques to comics and coffee, nearly two dozen small businesses in downtown Medford are scheduled to team up with the Medford library for a scavenger hunt celebrating the fun and variety of shopping downtown.

From Monday, Nov. 20, to Dec. 4, 23 participating businesses will stamp “Downtown Quest” game cards to help celebrate Small Business Saturday, Nov. 25. Players need to visit five of the businesses to complete the game. No purchase is necessary. Look for balloons and window posters that designate participating businesses.

Players can pick up a game card at the library, 205 S. Central Ave., or print one out at jcls.org/downtown-quest. They have until 5 p.m. Dec. 4, to return completed cards to the library. Those returning cards get a coupon for the library bookstore and get entered in a raffle for restaurant gift cards.

The library issued a news release about the game, saying it is sponsored by the Friends of the Medford Library as a way to encourage people to explore the library and downtown businesses.

Annie Jenkins, interim executive director for the Downtown Medford Association, lent her support to the promotion.

“This is a terrific opportunity for downtown businesses to support each other,” Jenkins said, according to the news release. “The library is a key partner in the downtown area, and we look forward to working with them.”

Participating businesses include the following:

• Artistic Piano, 112 W. Main St.
• Bumble & Wren, 231 E. Main St.
• Beerworks, 323 E. Main St.
• Central Art Supply, 101 N. Central Ave.
• Crunch Time Wreck and Escape Rooms, 230 E. Main St.
• Dancing Beads, 121 E. Sixth St.
• Hen & Flour, 141 S. Central Ave.
• Holliday Jewelry, 2 N. Central Ave.
• Hope Collective, 16 S. Bartlett St.
• Johnny B’s, 120 E. Sixth St.
• Luncheonette inside the Woolworth Building, 33 N. Central Ave.
• Marsh McLennan Agency, formerly PayneWest Insurance, 38 N. Central Ave.
• Moon Bees Wellness, 235 E. Main St.
• Onyx & Ivory Beauty Collective, 311 N. Bartlett St.
• Refashion Consignment Boutique, 220 E. Main St.
• Rogue City Comics, 32 N. Central Ave.
• Rogue Gallery and Art Center, 40 S. Bartlett St.
• Rogue Wear, 307 N. Bartlett St.
• Scrub Hub, 20 S. Fir St.
• Shreeve Insurance, 107 E. Main St., Suite 7
• Solid Ground Coffee + Tea, 217 E. Main St.
• The Brow Parlour, 24 N. Bartlett St.
• The RetroWormhole, 30 N. Central Ave.

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, Small Business Saturday is a day “to celebrate and support small businesses and all they do for their communities.” The designation, which applies to the Saturday after Thanksgiving, was adopted by American Express in 2010 and cosponsored by the SBA since 2011.

“This year, we know that small businesses need our support now more than ever as they navigate, retool and pivot from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic,” the agency stated in a posting to its website, sba.gov.