Niantic Partners with the City of GT During the 40th Anniversary Celebration to Promote the 2018 Walk on Blue Mountain

On Saturday, March 3, 2018, from 8 a.m. - 2 p.m., beginning at the corner of Palm Avenue and Honey Hill Drive, the City of Grand Terrace, Friends of Blue Mountain and the Sierra Club, will host the 11th Annual Walk on Blue Mountain event. This year’s event coincides with the City’s 40th anniversary, and to elevate the excitement surrounding this popular event, the City will be partnering with Niantic, Inc., creators of the immensely popular, real world augmented reality (AR) games Ingress and Pokémon GO. The City is happy to partner with a company like Niantic to promote the event because of the company’s vision to encourage an active lifestyle for players by developing technology that requires participants to get up, move and interact with the world around them. New in-game locations in Pokémon GO and Ingress will also be added around the Blue Mountain area, all of which are based on historically and culturally significant locations. This is a great opportunity for gaming fans to play real world games and learn more about the world around them during this year’s Walk on Blue Mountain event. Niantic is also a major proponent of giving back to the communities in which they serve. As a result, they will be working with City to donate trees to the future Blue Mountain trail and trailhead development, should the City be awarded the California Department of Parks and Recreation Habitat Conservation Fund grant it applied for this Fiscal Year. The City will receive the response to its grant proposal in May. Niantic’s involvement with the hike isn’t the only difference this year. If you find yourself hungry at the event, make sure and grab a breakfast burrito from Tuition Bites. All profits from Tuition Bites will go toward providing scholarships for college-bound seniors, at Grand Terrace High School. Scholarships from Tuition Bites are primarily given in the form of providing deserving students with laptops. You can also grab shaved ice from Kona Ice who will be in attendance at the event. This memorable event will help promote the City’s year-long Fabulous 40th Anniversary celebration, while also highlighting the City’s outstanding outdoor quality of life. Attendees of the hike, must head up the Blue Mountain no later than 10:30 a.m., and must head down by 12:30 p.m.