Renee Alexander

Behind the scenes of San Francisco's world-renowned Chinese New Year parade, another tradition lurks in the shadows: the Chinese New Year Treasure Hunt. Amid the chaos and cacophony of acrobatic lion dances, exploding firecrackers, and 50,000 spectators, hundreds of amateur sleuths compete for champagne, chocolate, and bragging rights in the search for cryptic clues throughout Chinatown and Downtown San Francisco.  Jayson Wechter, an experienced private investigator and detective fiction fan, started the hunt more than three decades ago. He wanted to create a live film noir experience for friends, who roam the dark, rain-slicked streets of Chinatown, shining flashlights into dark alleys that haven't changed much since the 1920s. When is the treasure hunt?  Slated for Saturday, February 23, the 31st annual Chinese New Year Treasure Hunt promises to attract more than 150 teams of five-ish members each, who compete in categories ranging from pun- and noir-themed team names to group costumes to number of clues solved. Each team receives a packet that includes a map of the one-square-mile playing area, an alphabetic street index, and a list of up to 16 clues of varying difficulty that lead to often obscure locations. Once there, treasure hunters must find a piece of information and use it to answer a question. Teams that turn in their answer sheets by the 8pm deadline are eligible for prizes. How much does it cost?  Tickets cost $55 per person until February 10 and $60 each therea