How to put an event together?

[+Shuckymomo]

My local geocaching group has silently gone the way of the dodo. Next spring, I'd like to do an event to bring all the cachers in my area together. I've got a few ideas but was wondering if anyone out there who has organized an event, could you give me some pointers? Mainly, how to get local (or non-local) businesses to help out with prizes? Gift cards, physical items, etc.

 

Anything else?

 

Thanks!

[Mag Magician]

Start small, and have one local business donate the space. Build on that, and have one of his/her competitors donate a prize. Then go to a neighbouring business and have them contribute advertising copy. It can snowball, if you work from the ground up, and challenge the next contributor.

[+Michael]

Start small, and have one local business donate the space. Build on that, and have one of his/her competitors donate a prize. Then go to a neighbouring business and have them contribute advertising copy. It can snowball, if you work from the ground up, and challenge the next contributor.

 

Just a hint, If a business donates space or anything else for that matter, don't ask their competitors. Its like a slap in the face. A business donates things for the promotional value and to build good will. If you bring in their competition then they lose some of what they had hoped to accomplish by helping you out. Stick to one business per type. i.e. one sporting goods store, one restaurant, one printing supples, etc. You will be able to build a relationship with the businesses that help you out this way.

[+Miragee]

Recently, I hosted my first Event at a local Pizza place. Prior to the Event, I acquired a number of different sizes and types of containers that could be used for caches. Some I got for reasonable prices at local Thrift Stores. Others were given to me. I painted, or cammoed, each of the containers, using some leaves I bought at Michael's, and other cammo techniques.

 

When each cacher signed in, I gave them a numbered ticket, putting the other half of the ticket in a bowl. As a "party favor," I gave a carabiner to each cacher.

 

Everyone got their own food and drinks. During the evening, I had to interrupt all the conversations to hold the "raffle" and give away the containers.

 

It was a fun, successful Event, and really wasn't hard to prepare for. I didn't decide to hold it until two and a half weeks ahead of time because I didn't know if I could do it. Now, I'm very glad I held it and look forward to a reason to have another one.

[+Snoogans]

My local geocaching group has silently gone the way of the dodo. Next spring, I'd like to do an event to bring all the cachers in my area together. I've got a few ideas but was wondering if anyone out there who has organized an event, could you give me some pointers? Mainly, how to get local (or non-local) businesses to help out with prizes? Gift cards, physical items, etc.

 

Anything else?

 

Thanks!

 

I host events regularly. I've hosted 19 smiley events (Including CITOs & a Terracaching event that wasn't cross listed here) and a few "No Smiley, Just Smiles" impromptu geo-get-togethers that wouldn't qualify for a smiley due to guideline conflicts for a total of 22. I'm also on the short count of attending 100 events as well.

 

The overwhelming advice I can give you is post it and they will come. Whether you get 2, or 50, or 200, to attend depends on too many factors to get into.

 

For your first hosted event, keep it simple. Meet someplace, talk about geocaching, and have fun. No frills. See who's out there before you go to a bunch of trouble to impress. Geocachers are great people and when it comes right down to it all we really want is to have someone to talk to about geocaching/geocoins/travel bugs without getting that "Hey, you been eatin' donuts cuz your eyes sure are glazed" look in return. Ya dig?

 

If ANYONE at all shows up, count your event a success. I've been to events with as little a 4 to 6 in attendance and some near 2,000 in attendance, but some of the smaller events are still more memorable than the bigger ones. At my first hosted event, 2 people showed up besides me an my sister. We had a blast and the event lasted over 4 hours.

 

If you wanna give out a prize or two, spend $10 at a dollar store rather than begging for freebees right off. You'll quickly discover that the only folks that really care about prizes are the kids.

 

Find a park with a first come, first served gazebo or picnic area and get there when the gates open to assure your spot even if your event doesn't start until hours later, or approach a local establishment and ask if you can hold a meeting there for free. Many would love to have the business.

 

Post your event perameters clearly. Time & duration are most important. If it's B.Y.O., potluck, or whatever, also make sure that's loud and clear. If there are any restrictions, fees, etc., be sure to post those as well. (It's usually understood that there will be separate checks at restaurant events.) These are the deciding factors that folks look for when they are deciding to come or not.

 

I have a semi regular Monday event that costs me exactly nuthin' plus my food and drink. The establishment loves us because we bring in business on an otherwise dead evening and everyone that attends enjoys the food and atmosphere. I've been hosting events there since 2003. I have another business owner who is chomping at the bit for the day when I move the Monday event to his establishment when the weather get's a bit cooler to be outside, which is roughly 4 months of the year, so 2 or possibly 3 events before returning to our regular place.

 

So, all you really need is a date and time, coords, and permission if you're not going the first served rout. If you plan to host more than one event, you might want to invest in a fancy log book that you can reuse over and over, but other than that...... Choose a place that's convenient to YOU. Hosting events is hard work. You'd be amazed how hard sometimes. The spot where I hold my regular events is right across the street from where I work. My annual White Elephant event that has literally outgrown that location is going to be moved to the amphitheater AT work to accommodate the huge crowd it draws now. (100+) Hosting an event in an unfamiliar setting can be an ordeal. I've done it and I'll be sticking to my Comfort Zone as much as possible.

 

I don't particularly enjoy hosting, but I do it because events are my favorite part of geocaching and I believe in giving back to the community that throws so many great events for me to attend. Most of my events don't have nearly the imagination or production value as many of the events I get to attend.

 

My average event expense is about $20 to $50 out of pocket, or roughly what I would spend putting out a decent cache. I had one series of 3 events that cost me near 1K in total, but that was for a special project and the money was well spent for the enjoyment that I and others directly involved got from it.

 

Keep it simple. Keep it regular if you're so inclined. Build a new geo-family in your area. Then make an elaborate production to impress them if you want to and not because you feel you need to.

 

Most people don't need to be impressed at a geocaching event. Mostly they just need a cool place to sit, talk, eat, and drink with a handy restroom nearby and enough parking to handle the entire group. If you can cover those bases, you're as good as gold.

Edited October 7, 2007 by Snoogans

[+lpyankeefan]

WOW! Snoogans has pretty much said everything I was going to say.

 

We started out small hosting pizza parties meet and greets at our local Ci-Ci's and have since snowballed from there. We've had as many as seventy or eighty people attend an event to as few as five. Funny that! I think I had just as much fun at the smallest event as I did at the largest event.

 

We've even managed to sucker.......er convince a few dozen friends to join us for a fifty plus mile bike ride last year along the WMRT in Hancock. We liked that one so much we're doing it again in a few weeks.

 

I have found that as time has gone on that I try to spend as much time mingling and talking as not. Trying to micro manage things equals no fun! That's not to say that things don't need to flow, just don't try to control everything.

 

Have fun!

Edited October 7, 2007 by lpyankeefan

[+wimseyguy]

What Snoogans said. Cachers do not attend events to get free swag and door prizes. They attend events to have a reason to discuss caches and caching and anything else they want to talk about with other like minded souls.

 

The parameters and responsibilities do change a bit with larger events, but the base underlying reasons for hosting and attending events are still the same.

 

I was amazed at how many of the 2000+ attendees at Geowoodstock5 hung out all day and visited with one another.

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

What Snoogans said. Cachers do not attend events to get free swag and door prizes. They attend events to have a reason to discuss caches and caching and anything else they want to talk about with other like minded souls.

 

The parameters and responsibilities do change a bit with larger events, but the base underlying reasons for hosting and attending events are still the same.

 

I was amazed at how many of the 2000+ attendees at Geowoodstock5 hung out all day and visited with one another.

Exactly! Although, having said that, and since I notice that LPYankeefan has posted recently in this thread, I must note that when I attended his recent breakfast event in Hagerstown that I was stunned to learn halfway through the event that I had won the first of the seven door ticket raffle prizes, and my prize turned out to be a really nice second-hand Bell 4-seater helicopter with only 100 hours of air time on the airframe and engine! Thank you, Larry!

Edited October 7, 2007 by Vinny & Sue Team

[+nittany dave]

IceCreamMan put together a nice writeup for event hosts here

[+NotThePainter]

I'd give up on the prizes. My wife and I have hosted 6 events. We initially sought out sponsors and got some pretty good swag (backpacks, $50 gift certificates, etc...) but we had to stop. Our sponsor wanted us to put a link to their website on the cache event page and TPTB wouldn't let us. We had to let the sponsor go.

 

On the other hand, the event is a lot more stress-free now, so that is a plus and nobody really does seem to mind that the give aways aren't there.

 

If you are doing it at a restaurant, make sure that the staff knows that you are not responsible for the bill. Tell them to give each table a bill. Aside from tipping the waitstaff, I've never had to pay a dime. I did have to help track down one cacher who forgot to pay, he was mortified when he realized it.

 

Just my $0.02.

 

Paul

[+Shuckymomo]

IceCreamMan put together a nice writeup for event hosts here

 

That article is what got me to thinking of hosting an event.

 

All these ideas have been great! Thank you all!

[+Lotho]

1)Fing a venue

2)Find a time

3)Organise things to take place there

4)put it on the website

5)hopefully youll get attendees =)

[+Isonzo Karst]

Cachers do not attend events to get free swag and door prizes

 

Bolding mine. Really, cachers do not attend events for swag and door prizes.

 

You need no sponsors. Just post a time and place.

 

The easiest event to host is a potluck (breakfast/lunch) in the park or a restaurant gathering. I prefer "in the park", it's easier to mingle.

 

You may have to rent a pavilion or you may be able to drive in and claim per Snoogan's post. You'd need to call the county/city parks dept and find out. If they're rentable, you need to rent, or risk discovering that someone else did and wants their paid for space.

 

I've hosted largish events were my expenses were $30 for the pavilon and another $10 or so for paper plates and plastic utensils. People will bring more food than anybody can possibly eat. If you go that route, bring some cleaning supplies for the bird turds and other unrecognizable stuff on the picnic tables, and bring some serving utensils. People will show up with casseroles and desserts, but no serving utensil.

 

It'll be great!

[+BooBooBee]

My local geocaching group has silently gone the way of the dodo. Next spring, I'd like to do an event to bring all the cachers in my area together. I've got a few ideas but was wondering if anyone out there who has organized an event, could you give me some pointers? Mainly, how to get local (or non-local) businesses to help out with prizes? Gift cards, physical items, etc.

 

Anything else?

 

Thanks!

 

Heya, Shuckymomo. If you're refering to Poison Oak Cachers, we're alive and kicking. We enjoyed a gathering in October, and another last month in Orcutt. (There were some 80 people at the January pizza event on a dark and stormy knight...OK, the storm let up, but it was dark!)

 

There was a website, but the guy who maintained it had some illnesses in the family and I suspect they have taken priority over caching. Go figure. Meanwhile, we've attempted using the GC.com forum to communicate, but I find it doesn't always notify me when something's posted to that thread. Unless I check on it, I miss out.

 

We've reserved a web address (www.poisonoakcachers.com) and will have the site up relatively soon. (Let's say spring...all I have to do is create the site in my spare time).

 

OreoPony is organizing another POC event up your way March 1. Check your local listings...

 

Anyhoooo....though you missed it, the event was, I'd say, a success. I reserved a corner of the local pizza joint and asked everyone attending to bring something we could give away, either in a cache or AS a cache. The result of that simple request was LOADS of swag, cache containers from magnetic micros to regular ammo cans (5 of those, I think), too many travelbugs to count, geocoins (many not yet activated). But the best part was, indeed, meeting all these folks including VenturaKids who popped in for the weekend to clear out our area. Three local cachers also placed 11 caches, the information about which was released at the event. WAAAY more activity that I planned on (I figured we'd eat pizza, drink beer and tell tall tales), but it worked fantastically.