Supernatural is a long running sci-fi horror show on the WB with a dedicated fan base, starring Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. It follows the adventures of two brothers, Sam and Dean Winchester, as they hunt monsters and save the world from random apocalypses. They are helped along by the angel Castiel, who is played by actor Misha Collins.
In 2011 Misha Collin’s founded a weird, unique, and interactive event called the Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen, abbreviated GISHWHES and later shortened to GISH. What the public wanted to know was, what is GISH? Collins defines it as doing the ridiculous and using his fame as a force for good. A basic online search shows it’s a week-long scavenger hunt and crafting event (anyone want to be buried in cotton candy?). But if you ask the GISHers, you might get an entirely different answer.
Even though I’ve been a long-time fan of Supernatural, the oddities coming from GISH made me question the sanity of everyone involved. GISHers swear it’s the best week of every year. Friends kept trying to get me to join, because I enjoy photography and paper crafting. But I’m shy, not good with people, and uncomfortable in most social situations. And like many artistic people, it’s easy to believe anything I’ve created can’t be good enough for an international event! But GISH had an answer:
Commandment 8. Shame. It doesn’t exist during the Hunt. If you have any leftover shame tucked away, get rid of it now! Throw it in your compost bin or recycle it into something more useful, like a pogo stick or moon shoes. If you must hang onto it, stick it someplace so clever, you’ll forget where you put it. We recommend throwing it into the laundry so it can end up in the dark and mysterious place where lost socks go.
This year I decided to join the wild ride of GISH. And I redefined the atypical answer to “What is GISH?” GISH forges friendships out of the ridiculousness of strangers. GISH fosters communities, as we search for the next clue. GISH does good recklessly, challenging us to help others. GISH makes monsters out of mud, no really, we made monsters out of mud. GISH invites strangers to embrace their weird, Plaidalecki anyone? GISH frees us to create and push our artistic boundaries…especially if it fails. Snap that failure shot, it could be the winner!
GISH was an eye-opening week of excitement, a flurry of craftasrophes, and human interactions (online, social distance style). My team, the PNWonderlanders 2020, consisted of 12 people (I only knew one). We spent a week boosting each other up, giving advice, and reminding each other to sleep, eat and drink. We became a community spread out over a few states, but the distance didn’t matter. We sent stuff, we talked, we created, we had fun. What is GISH to me? Weirdness and wonder and helping others. You should try it.
