+Team Balders Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 At a recent event, the conversation got around to holding a MEGA event in the midlands. It wasn't until later (and it wasn't just the beer talking) that we realised that we'd need 500+ people to attend . What would be involved in such an event? How do you make sure 500+ cachers will attend? Is the 500 over the whole event (we're thinking of a multi-day event)? Any takers? Discuss. Quote Link to comment
+harrogate hunters Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Is it possible to get 500 + cachers ? For the last couple of years the North Yorkshire Meet has been growing and last year we had in excess of 140 people... And that involves a lot of partners /kids... not 500 cachers ! So if its 500 cachers you are looking at 1000 + people... !!! What are the rules ? With 140-150 people I have had to organise marquees etc etc.... What is the largest cache meet so far in the UK ? Quote Link to comment
+Cryptik Souls Crew Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 (edited) I think to go for a mega event from scratch is too ambitious. Most mega events tend to be established events which run annually, only qualifying for mega status after several years. There would be a lot to organise to cater for 500+ people. Europe's first mega event is taking place in Holland next month, any takers? Edit - according to geocacheuk.com Shrops 2006 - In Search Of The Grail has the highest number of attended logs, with 84 Edited March 26, 2007 by Cryptik Souls Crew Quote Link to comment
+Team Balders Posted March 26, 2007 Author Share Posted March 26, 2007 So if its 500 cachers you are looking at 1000 + people... !!! I was thinking about 500+ attendees - cachers or not. I agree that it's a lot to do from scratch - but we're after ideas only at this stage. Quote Link to comment
+harrogate hunters Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 I think to go for a mega event from scratch is too ambitious. Most mega events tend to be established events which run annually, only qualifying for mega status after several years. There would be a lot to organise to cater for 500+ people. Well maybe North Yorkshire meet in 2008 or 2009 will be a Mega ! Im up for it if people will turn up !!! Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Also belive* a "Mega" event has to have cachers from other countrys visiting the event... Does Wales, Scotland, Ireland etc count for an event in the UK? We would be interested if it happened! G * Don't quote me, I think I've read it somewhere on GC.Com! I think in the US they have to get cachers attending from other States... Quote Link to comment
+harrogate hunters Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Also belive* a "Mega" event has to have cachers from other countrys visiting the event... Does Wales, Scotland, Ireland etc count for an event in the UK? We would be interested if it happened! G * Don't quote me, I think I've read it somewhere on GC.Com! I think in the US they have to get cachers attending from other States... Dont have to worry about that... when you get large numbers the other countries will attend... Last year I had attendees from USA and Sweden ! Quote Link to comment
+Jimblonduk Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 A few ideas to attract cachers from home and abroad .... A geocoin trading post: - small tent setup to encourage people to bring and buy or swap coins Army surplus supplies: - I know of a company that will gladly put up a stall for selling those hard to get decon cans, ammo boxes, camo webbing etc. Evening entertainment: - I can play guitar if someone else can sing, maybe 'round a campfire' setting but using a cadac loaded with sausages. Or maybe even hold a cachers talent competition, I'm sure there must be some out there. Quote Link to comment
Deceangi Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Mega event status is awarded by Groundspeak, if the organisers can provide enough evidence before the event it can be listed as a Mega one from publishing. Otherwise it is retrospectively applied after the event. To qualify for Mega status 500 persons [not teams] must attend, every member of a team is counted as a individual. Proof of attendance in the form of sign in sheets or log book is needed. And it's solely based numbers and not were the attendees have come from. but the chances are there will be several international attendees. Quote Link to comment
+The Bolas Heathens Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 This is what happened at the Mega event we went to in California recently. As you arrived you had to queue up to sign the event logbook. In this you had to put your team name and number of people attanding. It did help that Brian from Groundspeak was there so could declare the event a Mega event with the minimum of fuss as he could see it all with his own eyes. From what I understand, he logged onto his account from the event (they had 6-8 internet kiosks for people to use) and changed the event type there and then. An event of that size will naturally draw in people from all over so even if that was a requirement, it's one that would naturally happen anyway. As for the facilities, this one was in a very modern, large church hall. They had big round tables set out all over the main floor with lots of seats. They had free pizza and soft drinks for all (paid for by the event sponsors - some coin companies). They had Podcacher broadcasting live from a booth and a sound system and HUGE projector showing pictures of people caching and tutorials. There were lots of other great ideas like a social competition where you had to answer a number of questions e.g. name a team here at the event with under 100 finds, name a team with over 1000 finds. This was great as it got people talking to people they might not have otherwise talked to and really helped shyer cacher's mix. There was a massive raffle with tons of cleverly camo'd containers and lots of coins (donated by the sponsors) to win. Also lots of other things to keep people amused. To qualify for Mega status 500 persons [not teams] must attend, every member of a team is counted as a individual. Proof of attendance in the form of sign in sheets or log book is needed. And it's solely based numbers and not were the attendees have come from. but the chances are there will be several international attendees. Quote Link to comment
markandlynn Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 I asked GC to award shrops Mega status last year it prompted them to firm up the entry requirements as 500 people attending the event not 500 caching identies. They did say they would continue to monitor its progress. Quote Link to comment
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