Regina Pokémon Go Lure-a-Palooza a success for players and businesses

The streets of 13th Avenue in Cathedral neighbourhood were alive with chatter as hundreds of Pokémon Go trainers hit the pavement Sunday afternoon in Regina’s biggest Pokémon meet up yet.

Organizers of Lure-a-Palooza said the event was to draw in as many people from around the city to Cathedral as possible.

“Regina is an amazing place full of community atmosphere and we wanted to build on that by using this game as well,” Lure-a-palooza organizer Sean Ryan explained.

“What we decided is that having a lot of people out and about is really beneficial to the community.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "What we decided is that having a lot of people out and about is really beneficial to the community."

Pokémon lures are dropped around the area and throughout the day to encourage both Pokémon and people to come out and explore the neighbourhood.

READ MORE: Playing Pokémon Go may actually be beneficial to your health

Trainers, baited by the allure of catching them all, traveled in droves to many poké-stops, which also included local businesses.

Shannon’s Pub is a poké hotspot for players. The pub also offered up beer specials, including a poké pint, a red pint of their in-house beer.

Since the game launched less than a month ago, the bar said it is noticing a positive effect on its business.

“Probably about 10-per-cent increase (in business),” Brian Fagan, Shannon’s Pub co-partner said.

“It’s got a lot of people stepping in, collecting what they can, on their way and having a couple of pints and moving on to their next destination,” he said.

At the other end of the spectrum, Bodhi Tree Yoga offered up something completely different. The yoga stuido transformed into a free poké charging station.

Yoga teacher Johnny Trinh said it’s all about welcoming the community to Cathedral.

“We love having people here,” Trinh said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We love having people here," Trinh said.

“The whole point of community is having people here, claiming this space as our own,” Trinh said.

While most of the shops in Cathedral are long-time staples, some are much newer. Boh and Zyma Baaten, ages 10 and 7, set up shop around the Lure-a-Palooza with hopes of cashing in on the latest Pokémon craze.

The brother and sister duo sold cups of lemonade outside the family home, just steps from the main roadway.

“It’s because there’s so much people here and we thought that if they get thirsty or something, and they forget their water bottles, they can just come here and have a drink,” Zyma Baaten said.