With the help of a cartoon character named “Piney,” the Rapid City (S.D.) Convention & Visitors Bureau hopes to attract more people to the destination for meetings — namely, kids.

Piney the Pinecone was created by the CVB to generate excitement among children so they would ask their parents to take them along to their meeting. Piney resides at the CVB's Web site, www.rapidcitycvb.com, where he is the star of his own online game, “Piney's Black Hills Adventure.” There, Piney acts as a guide in an animated map of area attractions, such as Mount Rushmore, Bear Country USA, and Badlands National Park. When a child clicks on a destination, a little car carrying the pinecone guide scoots off to the attraction, and a short video plays. At the end of the video, the child must find the hidden pinecone; once it is located, the player wins a coupon to the attraction.