Kirk A. Bado

kbado@tennessean.com

Event planner Crawl Nashville Inc. is inviting players of popular Pokemon Go mobile game to "crawl for a cause" this weekend at their inaugural Pokemon themed bar crawl benefiting Monroe Carrell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.

The two-day event will be split between Tin Roof's two Nashville locations. The Pokemon hunt starts Friday at Tin Roof on Demonbreun Street, and Saturday on Second Avenue in Southern Broadway. Two Bits, South, Dawg, Harp and Fiddle and more have committed to take part in the crawl.

"We came up with Crawl Nashville about a year ago and hadn't done anything with it yet, but then the Pokemon Go craze happened, we wanted to jump on board and make something out of it," said Crawl Nashville Founder Christina Godbout.

Founders Christine Adamski and Godbout are both avid players of Pokemon Go, and noticed virtual hubs for the game were all over town, and they wanted to capitalize. When they initially approached other bars with their idea, some venues were hesitant. Godbout had to reassure the businesses that the promotion would bring big crowds.

According to Forbes, 46 percent of all Pokemon Go players are between the ages of 18-29. The game has been downloaded over 100 million times and has more active daily users than Twitter and Instagram according to reports.

"Pokemon was huge for kids born in the '80s and '90s and now all those kids are able to drink so it's perfect," said Godbout.

The game uses Google maps to generate digital Pokemon in real world locations. Landmarks, restaurants and even churches can be designated as virtual hubs that players can visit to receive special in-game rewards, and battle the Pokemon they have collected. A power-up in the game called "lures" can be used at these hubs, making them a magnet for Pokemon, and more importantly, Pokemon Go players. Instead of having to go out and hunt the Pokemon, the players can stay in one place and have the virtual monsters come to them.

Fifteen percent of the crawl's ticket sales will be donated to Vanderbilt children's hospital and donation jars will be placed at each location. Tickets can be purchased here as well as at Tin Roof during the event. Tickets are $20 for general admission and $35 for a t-shirt package. General admission includes a Pokemon Go tank top and shot glass, discounted drinks and other specials.

More details can be found on the company's Facebook page.