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Things to do at events


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There are quite a few people out there that would probably like to hold an event but don't because they can't come up with ideas of things to do at the event. Sure all events start out by getting cachers together to swap war stories and catch up with old friends while making new ones. But what other types of activities would all of you find interesting to do at an event?

Lets put together a list that everyone can come back to for ideas.

 

Here's a few to start, these came out of the Ice Cream Mans Event Handbook. Now you add in some ideas for games and other things that can be done to keep things interesting and make for a memorable event.

 

Geo-Bingo - Each guest is given a sheet with a grid of squares on it. Each square

has a statement in it, such as "Less than 100 finds" or "Required medical

treatment while caching" or "Caches with a geo-dog". Participants must then

attempt to locate fellow Geocachers in attendance that match those statements and

have them sign the appropriate square. The first full sheet wins.

 

Link to a sample Geo-Bingo card

 

Three things about you - Each guest is given a slip containing the name of another

guest along with several questions about that person, such as Hometown, Favorite

Cache and Real First Name. They must find that person and get answers to the

questions. To make it more interesting, guests are divided into teams. In order to

complete the activity all team members must have their slips completed. This

requires people to find their team members and help them find the player on their

slip to get the answers to the questions

.

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You might try having someone make an informal presentation on a topic that will be of interest to new, somewhat inexperienced geocachers, and have a similar presentation on a topic that will interest those who are more experienced.

 

Sample topics for new geocachers:

selecting good hiking boots and other clothing

what to carry in a geocaching kit, backpack, etc.

area rules - what's off limits or inappropriate in your area

 

Sample topics for more experienced geocachers:

paperless geocaching

using GSAK and other applications

using Geocache Navigator with a Boost phone

preparing for extended hiking trips

 

Don't let presentations dominate your event, though. Most geocachers seem to like the opportunity for social interaction at least as much as the opportunity to learn something new. And food is usually a good draw.

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At an event I planned a couple years ago we set up a special "CASH-and-dash" game. It was an event-only cache that was placed somewhere in the park where the event was held. It was NOT loggable on GC.com. If someone wants to play they pay for a clue card (at our event it was $5 a card). The card was basically in the form of a puzzle cache and folks would gather clues as they worked their way around the park. Whoever solved the puzzle first and found the cache won all the CASH! The more people who choose to play, the bigger the payoff. You could also work this as a 50/50 game if your local organization would like to use it as a fundraiser.

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Here's a link for ICM's event Handbook.

 

Much depends on how many events have been held in your area. The bingo game is a GREAT mixer in areas where there haven't been bunch of events. You can tailor it to your area, and make it bigger or smaller, no free space, more free spaces, depending upon expected attendance.

 

I'm personally more fond of "activity free" events. Food, and fellowship is all I want. Potluck food and a place to stand/sit around and talk.

 

The more structure you give events, the less likely I'll be back for your next. I came to meet and greet, not play poker, or listen to presentations. That is entirely my personal opinion, and not universally shared.

 

I HATE raffles unless they're lightening quick. Holding a crowd captive while numbers are read off kills the whole social experience to focus on mere stuff. Again, just a personal opinion. Whenever an event degenerates into reading off raffle ticket numbers, I leave.

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I really like the geo bingo! Last event we had we put stickers on everybodies backs. The stickers had the names of Celebrities, local figures, politicians, etc. You had to go around and ask others questions about who you were (Male, Female, am I fictional, etc.). It turned out to be a lot of fun. One of them was Signal the Frog.

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I hosted my first event between Christmas and New Years - a Holiday Pizza Party. Everyone seemed to have a great time, just gathering, eating pizza, and chatting. While I did do some door prizes, and there was an optional gift exchange, that part was really low key. I didn't place any temp caches, or have any organized mini-events, but like I said, everyone seemed to have a great time. :unsure:

 

On the other hand, I went to a Halloween event that was someone else's first event (I think) - and they did do a poker run, with temporary caches, and everyone had a blast, including me! The cache hunting came before the main gathering though, so everyone still ended up gathering in one place (a Village Inn), eating, chatting, getting door prizes, and of course seeing who had the best poker hand.

 

It all depends on what people expect/like. I like pretty much everything! Some people wouldn't. Just tailor it to your expected attendees - or go crazy, try something new, and see what happens! :P

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I'm personally more fond of "activity free" events. Food, and fellowship is all I want. Potluck food and a place to stand/sit around and talk.

 

The more structure you give events, the less likely I'll be back for your next. I came to meet and greet, not play poker, or listen to presentations. That is entirely my personal opinion, and not universally shared.

I agree, I do not need someone to entertain me, I'm there to BS. I can entertain myself however I want.

 

I'd rather attend a small event, I went to Midwest GeoBash and was completely lost until I hooked up with some locals and we BS'd around the fire until 3am - that was the best time I ever had at an event.

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Here in Oklahoma, the big events have games, such as temporary caches, puzzle games, poker runs, Oklahoma land run dash, murder mystery caches and more. They also have times during the events when everyone gets together to visit. The big events normally start with gathering around a fire on Friday night in one of the state parks, then the games starting Saturday around noon, then gathering for supper, again for breakfast, and a final gathering around noon on Sunday. Our monthly events are gatherings primarily to meet and greet. I've also attended on event in London that was a meet and greet in a pub. Being a big fan of liquid adult beverages, I really enjoyed the event in London and my favorite part of the big events is the visit around the campfire.

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What I like at events - activities that encourage mingling.

 

What I don't like at events - activities (like temp caches, poker runs, etc...) that encourage everyone to go off on their own.

I've found that most Events I've been to that had activities like these, They were done in teams rather than by individuals, whish can be a fun change for those who usually Cache alone(or can be a frustrating, noisy mess)

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One of the last events I was at had an "evil camo contest"... folks were showing off their best. We had a log rolling contest. There was a micro division and a nano division... how many logs can you roll in a minute? But yes, the best thing to do at an event is have some food, some drink and some conversation.... oh yeah, then we usually all go caching afterwards!

 

DCC

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Seems like the biggest majority would much rather go to an event just to socialize and sample all of the pot luck food and not have all of the distractions of little mini events or games. If your gonna have something like a poker run maybe it should be held earlier in the day so that it doesn't interfere with the main event.

 

Team Madog mentioned a Murder Mystery Cache with sounds interesting. If anyone knows how this works Fill us in. Might be a good idea for a Halloween event.

 

There seems to be alot of good info in so far. Keep the ides rolling in

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What I like at events - activities that encourage mingling. ....

 

At a mega event in our area someone put together a list of geocachers to meet who met certain criteria.

 

Things like:

 

A cacher who had been caching more than 3 years

 

A cacher who had started in the last month

 

A cacher with more than 5000 finds

 

A cacher with less than 100 finds

 

A cacher from another state/country

 

Etc.

 

I think there was a rule that each cacher you met could only fill one catagory. If you filled you card--I think there were 8 or 10 catagories--you could enter a drawing.

 

It definately prompted folks to introduce themselves to others and get to know them a bit. Usually it wound up being more than just a "ticket-punch"; once someone meets a cacher with 100+ hides it tends to lead to conversations about their caches and techniques.

 

I wish I could remember who came up with it--they helped a lot of folks break the ice!

 

Dave_W6DPS

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:laughing: I really think we need to divide events into two categories. 1- those that last only a few hours, or 2- those that last multiple days. I agree with most of the post here, in that for cat 1 events, socializing is the #1 thing to do. For events in category 2, getting in a little caching is a lot of fun and provides opportunities to cache with a new group. You have to make your own fun.
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