Event Cache With Community Sanction Ideas?

[+kent1915]

Huh??? OKay, I am lookin for ideas. Our Convention and Tourism Bureau is wanting to do a large scale caching event to draw alot of visitors to the community and is even going to be able to put up prize money for drawings (ya know. Find the secret number in the secret caches and get entered to win...). I, one of our state geocaching Association board members and a couple other cachers have been tapped to advise and help set up. I have ideas, but...

 

I am looking to the experts. What would draw you to something like this. Obviously avoiding commercialism... Unique cache ideas? We have a night cache here, a ton of puzzle caches (some easy and some 4.5*s) lots of traditional, but what else? If you attended, what would trip your trigger besides caches in general?

 

[+wimseyguy]

Event Caches are all about meeting other cachers and getting to know them in a fun situation. It's got nothing to do with winning door prizes, solving puzzles, or any other agendas. If your community happens to have a bunch of great caches to find on the way to or from that is just a bonus.

 

BTW a great meal or liquid rrefreshments are a nice touch too.

[+LOSt OSOS]

have a coin made for the event.

[+kent1915]

whimseyguy- It goes without saying. That is the point of events meeting others, finding new caches, the sort of esprit de corp. What I was trying to get across (and thanks for helping me realize my point did not come out right) was that there are lots of resources at our disposal if they are willing and able to do cash prizes. Thanks for helping me clarify that.

 

Food and drink is good. The coin is a great idea; one I had not thought of. What else would be good to see?

[+Astro_D]

I held an event last year that received the support of the city of Green Bay and the Brown County Historical Society! Why? Every cache that was placed showcased the rich history of our city and some of the surrounding communities. It took well over six months to research the history of the little known places, obtain permission for some historic areas (houses, state park grounds, City Hall and historic businesses), but it was well worth it. Cachers got to cache and explore the history of one of the oldest settlements in Wisconsin.

 

To keep in the spirit of geocaching, we offered an "Intro to Geocaching" seminar before the event (had 25 attend) and a potluck dinner at the end of the day. Oh boy the stories that were told....

 

This event was so successful (150+ people attended), that I was asked to do another event this year. I would like to think it was sucessful in part because it offered more than finding an event cache in the woods at a local park. (Not that there's anything wrong with that)!

[+ZackJones]

Try to get some press for the event. Especially press that empahsizes the good aspects of caching - CITO, proper trail usage, etc. I second the idea for the coin or consider wooden nickels as well. T-shirt - so, so idea, I would think.

 

Some other ideas...

 

Hold intro to caching seminars for new folks that are interested in trying it for the first time.

 

Have caching guides to take newbies out for an easy hunt.

 

Print maps of various cache types - All Micros, All multi's, etc.

[+Cache us Clay]

I've been thinking of different ideas too. We'll be doing an event in conjunction with our park district for earth day. A coin is a fantastic idea. The best I've come up with so far is gift certificates with the coordinates on the back.

[+kent1915]

Thanks for the help so far. Keep the ideas coming!!!!

[Mushtang]

The Georgia Geocachers Association (GGA) has a monthly meeting and there's always a speaker of some sort, so that we can (hopefully) learn something too. In the past the topics have included: How to camoflauge a cache, How to recognize local snakes on the trails (a favorite), How to go paperless (tutorials on various software options), etc.

 

If your event is really big (day long event), have several breakout sessions and let people chose which ones they want to attend. If it's only a few hours, have one discussion and some food.

[+the hermit crabs]

There were a couple of events like that in Massachusetts last year: The Great Northern Tier Geocaching Tournament ran for two days, and included more than 60 caches (32 of which were subsequently listed as permanent caches on gc.com). And there was a one-day WGAW Footprint Geocache Tour tournament event.

 

I didn't go to either one, but I think that attendees were given booklets with the lists of caches and clues. Some caches had a unique stamps to prove that people found them; some required finders to obtain some information from a nearby sign or monument. Points were awarded for each cache based on difficulty; extra points were given for FTFs. The two-day one had a cookout/get-together the first night. Local area businesses sponsored the events and donated prizes.

 

You could click on the cache pages for those events and email the people who were involved in organizing them.

[+sept1c_tank]

...If you attended, what would trip your trigger besides caches in general?

Invite Carleen!