What is Gish?

For anyone that has come across this strange word on the world wide web, and you’re wondering what the heck it actually is, you’ve come to the right place. What is Gish? What the heck IS IT?!?!?!?

2018 [*Item#: 182 – Image – First responders serve us all, so it’s only right to return the favor. Dressed as a butler or maid, surprise your local police or fire station with coffee and breakfast.*]
That’s my husband and I serving breakfast to a team on the Angeles National Forest Fire Fighting team. We actually also brought them lunch and they were a great sport for helping us with the photo.

2019 UPDATE:

My team ILLUSIVE YETIS have made Runners Up for the first time!!!! We didn’t win, but we were so close! Out of thousands of group teams that participated, only 15 teams can make Runners Up and we were one of them. Selected from the number of items we completed and the quality of our items as well! We are so stoked and so proud of ourselves! Congrats to my team!!! You rock!!!

*2019 – [Item#: 97 – You, the Carrot God, have summoned them.]*

2019 – [Item#: 69 – Nobody’s more devoted or grateful to firefighters than we are, except maybe a dalmatian. Or Smokey the Bear. Go to your local fire station dressed as a dalmatian or Smokey the Bear and create a relaxation station to thank them for their work. You can bring treats, offer mani-pedis, foot or shoulder massages, aromatherapy… You get the idea.]

A Brief Description

GISH is an acronym. It stands for the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt. (It use to be known as GISHWHES but it was too long and was eventually shorten. GISHWHES stood for the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen. Yeah, that’s a mouthful we didn’t need.)

*This is our team’s “business card” that we hand out to people who are kind enough to help us.*

Gish is a giant scavenger hunt that over 15,000 participants from all around the world join in on. Teams of 15 people are created and they can consist of friends or strangers from all over the world. It costs about US$20 to register and join a team. The Hunt List consists of usually around 200+ unique and wacky items that each team needs to locate, create, or do. It can consist of photos or videos. And your team of 15 is allowed to use their family members or friend connections, colleagues or perfect strangers to assist them in completing an item.

2017 *[Item: #4 – Image – As anyone who reads “Cosmopolitan” magazine knows, bohemian eco-chic weddings are all the rage. Let’s see a wedding dress made from recycled office paper.]*
Thankfully I had access to a lot of recycle paper from my office.

2018 Item#: 138 – Image – We have recently seen the emergence of mega-farms, huge efforts that implement farming on an industrial scale. Let’s go the other way! Show us your version of a micro-garden. The tinier and more ornate, the better.

2017 Item#: 10 – Image – Pizza was invented in Italy in 997 AD to honor the Queen Consort, Queen Margherita. The next significant event in Italian history was the start of the Renaissance Period in the 14th century, which spawned a revival in art, architecture, science and learning. Let’s celebrate these two seminal moments in Italian history. Bake a Pizza decorated as a Renaissance painting that would make the Old Masters proud.

A Bit More Detail

Gish was created about 8 years ago by a cast member of a popular television series, SUPERNATURAL. Misha Collins started a random scavenger hunt for his huge fan-base and it snowballed and turned into a world phenomenon and life changing event for many people involved.

2017 Item#: 56 – Image – Sometimes things are just too comfy to leave, but you’re prepared for this! Let’s see you in your “Hammock Self-Containment Unit”. This, of course, would be you in a hammock with everything you need to live for one week, including all life preserving items, sanitation supplies and, of course, entertainment (live or otherwise). Make sure it’s clean, well organized, and designed for easy access to everything.

THE HUNT comes around once a year during the Summer and lasts exactly ONE week! And all items on the hunt list must be completed and submitted within that one week time frame. Each submission is scored by a group of extraordinary Gish gnomes and tallied up for each team. And at the end, a winning team is selected! The team wins a trip to an exotic location as a group, along with Gish gnomes and other special guest stars. Past locations have been a trip to New Zealand, Croatia, Iceland, Scotland and Costa Rica just to name a few.

2018 Item#: 93 – Image – They say people and their pets tend to start to look alike. Prove it. Cosplay as your pet. (It should be really hard to tell who’s who.) Post your image to social media tagged #GISHPetPals.

My Personal Gish Experience

I have participated in the hunt for four years now and I will be going into my fifth year this 2019. The first two years, I was with a team that eventually broke up due to the Team Leader having personal problems in her life. So I joined another team and we have been going strong ever since!

*This is our team’s “business card backside” that we hand out to people who are kind enough to help us.*

Besides doing crazy and wacky off the wall things, or creating unique pieces of art, fashion or whatever the heck is on that hunt list. Team members also get to participate in completely random acts of kindness. From donations to charities, creating care packages for Women’s Shelters, assist cancer patients, visit and brighten the day for children at a hospital, or visit a senior center. Beaches have been cleaned. Rain forests have been saved. Clean water has been provided. The list can go on and on.

2016 Item#: 23 – Image – The versatility of corn is amazing— it has so many uses! However, there’s no better use for corn than this year’s must-have fashion statement: the Corn Husk Bikini or Corn Husk Evening Wear! Feel free to color the husks, as well as to accent and accessorize with kernels.

2016 Item#: 31 – Image – Personify the name of a street sign.

2015 Item# 53 – Image – There are roughly only 150 Sommeliers on the planet who have received the highest distinction a professional can attain in fine wine and are accordingly classified as “Master Sommeliers.” Get a picture of you with a current Master Sommelier sipping pure kale (or cabbage) juice from a wine glass. Caption the image with “NAME OF SOMMELIER, renowned Master Sommelier says the official drink of Gishwhes is..” And then finish the caption with the sommelier’s review of the juice.
I contacted a couple of Sommeliers in my area and only Mr. Poe responded and he was such a huge sport and super fun!

If You are Interested in Joining Gish

This is basically the gist of it. Lots of families participate with their kids during their Summer Break. And teenagers participate with their friends also during the break. But even adults over 50 participate. It’s super fun for all ages. And it gets you involved in your community, out of the square box you’re trapped in, and coaxes you out of your introverted shell if you need it. Which I definitely do.

*2015 Item#: 209 – Image – Go to an open sky James Turrell installation and take a photo of yourself celebrating the sky.* The couple behind us probably thought we were nuts!

If you think it looks fun and you are interested, just visit their website about 6 months before Gish week starts, and you can easily signup and join a team or get assigned to a random team. Don’t be afraid. You can join easy teams or hardcore teams. It’s all for fun and doing something that’s just out of the norm. Hence why I enjoy it so much. Resist the mundane!!!