“There’s some construction going on downtown, so we’ve been looking at finding some creative ways to draw people into downtown and remind them all of the great options that are here,” said Amy Schlusler-Schmitt, the community development and engagement manager for the city. “We got together and came up with this campaign idea in the hopes that it would provide enough incentive for people to come down, eat and hopefully shop.”

Residents can post the selfie on their Facebook, Twitter or Instagram pages, as long as they use the hashtag #BeeDowntownEL. Schlusler-Schmitt said users with private Facebook accounts need to go a step further. 

“A lot of people have private settings on their Facebook accounts. If you don’t want to amend that, just go ahead and post the picture to (the downtown East Lansing page),” she said. 

In addition to a $100 gift card to the downtown restaurant they previously visited, the winner of the drawing will also receive a three-hour parking voucher. The six-week long program is a pilot, and is intended to last throughout the summer if it works.

“(The restaurants) are pretty enthusiastic,” Schlusler-Schmitt said. "Within 30 hours, we had six businesses signed up and I have several that want to take part in the campaign." 

The campaign is intended to appeal both to MSU students and to East Lansing residents who are not of college age. 

“The hope is that it will continue on through the summer months, and those who aren’t as comfortable coming down when there are younger students would be willing to come down and support our businesses then,” she said.

The bee currently resides at the Buffalo Wild Wings on Albert Avenue. It will be there until Monday, when it is moved to an undisclosed new restaurant. That afternoon, this week’s winner will be announced.