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New festival to turn Klyde Warren Park into massive scavenger hunt

For one day only, on April 23, the 5-acre Klyde Warren Park will become a microcosm of more than a dozen neighborhoods in Dallas. Hungry, thirsty and curious attendees can embark on scavenger hunts through each pop-up neighborhood, buying samples or testing out products for free.

Called Kwestival, the free festival is organized by a team of Dallas-proud people who recently created a smartphone app called Kwest. The app offers short tours through some of Dallas' most popular neighborhoods such as Bishop Arts or the Dallas Arts District. (The scavenger hunts via the app are free for now but won't always be.)

At the Kwestival, organizers want Dallasites "to come to one place to explore all the best -- the best flavor, bites, drinks," says Kwest co-founder Omeed Shams.

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"You're going to be immersed in Dallas within Klyde Warren Park. You can walk from station to station and experience the best of each neighborhood." 

Local business owners from than a dozen neighborhoods in Dallas are expected to pop up in...
Local business owners from than a dozen neighborhoods in Dallas are expected to pop up in Klyde Warren Park, the green space in the lower right part of this photo, on April 23.(G.J. McCarthy / The Dallas Morning News)

Attendees might stumble upon restaurateurs from Bishop Arts, painters from the Design District, brewers from Deep Ellum or bar owners from Uptown. None of the vendors have been announced yet, however, says Lauren Lee, event organizer and owner of Three Twelve Co.

Local musicians are also expected to perform at the 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 23 event, and a special family-friendly section might include animals visiting from the Dallas Zoo.

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Anyone who wishes to use the Kwest app at the Kwestival will find extra items to scavenge for and free or discounted food and drink. Using the app is not required at the Kwestival, however.

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Event organizers are essentially "gamifying a festival" via a smartphone app, a co-owner says.

Kwest was created by two UT-Dallas students, Shams and Andrew Brown, who felt like there was a lot to do in Dallas but not enough guidance as to where -- or how -- to do it.

"There's a gap in the market," Brown says. "You can use apps like Foursquare, but there's none of that engaging experience around it. So we came up with the idea to do a scavenger hunt guided tour [around neighborhoods in Dallas]."

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The idea launched way past Shams' and Brown's basic entrepreneurship class and is now their full-time business.

During the Kwestival, the park will remain open anyone, as is common during events at Klyde Warren.

Dallas Zoo animals have visited Klyde Warren Park before, like here during the Dallas...
Dallas Zoo animals have visited Klyde Warren Park before, like here during the Dallas International Film Festival Family Day in April 2015.(Smiley N. Pool / The Dallas Morning News)