Escape from Alcatraz

Daily Herald

In order to commemorate the start of direct flights to San Francisco, Provo had a small contest to win a free weekend on Fisherman's Warf called "Escape From Alcatraz." The event was simple--be one of the first fifty people there and you get a key and of all the keys given out one would unlock a "prison door" which held the prize. Furthermore, if you dressed up like a prisoner, fisherman, or trolley car operator you would get an extra key and thus an extra chance. You had to come to the event packed though since if you won you would be boarding the flight just an hour or so later.

Instagram: @ProvoMayor (I'm easy to spot)

Naturally I told my boss that I would be at work late and possibly not at all. My cousin already had a prisoner outfit from Halloween a few years ago so I figured it was worth a shot.

I was nervous about how many people would show up and eventually decided that showing up two hours early would be sufficient to make sure I was in the first fifty. Sure enough it was, in fact we didn't fill to fifty until maybe thirty minutes before the drawing.

I was the most theatrically dressed attendee which had its perks. I was able to chat with Mayor John Curtis, the new Miss Provo, and three different journalists which means once again I got a quote in the Daily Herald.

Christian Otting, of Provo, came to the contest dressed in a full-length black and white striped prisoner's costume, excited about the chance to win the tickets. "Any excuse to dress up in public is valid by me," Otting said. "And I love Provo and participating in Provo events."

Instagram: @HeraldExtra

I even scored a TV interview but it was just for the city channel which means no one will ever see it. If they post it online I'll throw it on here. They kept asking me where my partner was since the grand prize was two tickets but I had to tell them all my friends were lame and weren't able to schedule their weekend around maybe going to San Francisco.

Ultimately the only thing I won was a pen from KSL but it was a lot of fun and its always nice to make the newspaper.