Any GIGA events upcoming?

[+rickdorsey8080]

Just wondering if there are any GIGA events planned on the horizon? After attending GW14er and having a fun time while there meeting other cachers from across the country, I'm wondering when/if the States will hold the next GIGA. For the record, I didn't register in time for GW14er, which turned out to be a blessing b/c = no standing in long lines for no reason. Thanks, Rick

[+cerberus1]

JIC you meant to say MEGA events (GW14er was listed as a mega), here's a bookmark for upcoming MEGA events.

[+HHL]

And here is the auto updating search url:

Mega/Giga Events (click here)

 

Hans

[+rickdorsey8080]

HHL, thanks for the calendar link. And Cerberus, I meant GIGA. I was at an event a couple of weeks ago and I was chatting with another cacher. He said that he would have gone to GW14 had it reached GIGA status, which got me thinking. As I look at my stats, I realize that's one blank that I'm not sure I'm ever going to fill in. Hence my question.

[+Mike in FN20hc]

A GIGA requires 5000 will attends/attendeds. Where in the US are there enough cachers to attract that large a group for a few hours? GW hasn't been able to get half that many, even when it's near major metropolises. Last year Boonsboro MD was close to BOTH Baltimore and DC and had 2163 Will Attends and 2399 Attended. Denver had 2004/1665 (so far) and was not nearly as easy to get to.

 

A US GIGA will have to be within a 3 hour drive of multiple (more than 2) MAJOR metropolitan areas to find enough cachers who will travel for an event. That pretty much limits it to a few areas in the northeast or southern CA.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

A GIGA requires 5000 will attends/attendeds. Where in the US are there enough cachers to attract that large a group for a few hours? GW hasn't been able to get half that many, even when it's near major metropolises. Last year Boonsboro MD was close to BOTH Baltimore and DC and had 2163 Will Attends and 2399 Attended. Denver had 2004/1665 (so far) and was not nearly as easy to get to.

 

A US GIGA will have to be within a 3 hour drive of multiple (more than 2) MAJOR metropolitan areas to find enough cachers who will travel for an event. That pretty much limits it to a few areas in the northeast or southern CA.

 

I think that past Geowoodstock attendance is probably a pretty good indicator or how many people would attend a significant Geo event but I wonder how many geocachers in the U.S. would travel further for a GIGA event than they might for a Mega event simply because of the unique icon. I wouldn't.

 

 

 

[+igator210]

A GIGA requires 5000 will attends/attendeds. Where in the US are there enough cachers to attract that large a group for a few hours?

 

The northeast is still the best bet. NYC, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, DC. You'd also be able to pull in Toronto and Montreal.

 

But, you really would have to incentivize the whole experience. If I'm going to invest money into traveling to an event that is more than a quick weekend trip, I really want to get my money's worth. There really has to be something besides a single Mega. I know how bad that sounds, but its true.

 

Allow a CITO the day after to help clean up the area. Bring back the GPS Maze for the event and allow it to be logable. Have a pre-event the night before at the grounds for those that are in town. I want to have a weekend of activities at one location.

 

I know HQ has said event stacking isn't allowed, but that is what it will take for people to travel any great distance. GW14er had auxiliary events, but, to me, they didn't quite feel connected to the main event because of the times they were held and they way they were spread out geographically.

[+Mike in FN20hc]

Megas I've been to all had day before events to pick up registration,with either a separate or combined traveler/'tag get together and even a CITO after a few times. GW13 had a bug party the evening after the main event and several events in the days/evenings before. All seemed to pass reviewer muster, even after the tighter stacking rules.

 

I didn't want to push the Northeast too soon, but looking at the map something in the Albany/Poughkeepsie, NY area might have a chance. Of course it would be a HUGE undertaking, getting enough people to organize all the stuff would likely require several local groups to band together. The ones held in Europe have been at sports stadiums to hold the crowd. Don't know how that might work here.

[+wimseyguy]

I'd be pretty surprised to see a GIGA event in the USA any time soon.

 

1. Megas are almost common these days in the US. There's one just about every weekend in the summer.

2. You would need a substantial and experienced organizing and host committee to plan one.

3. Anyone who has adequate mega experience might be capable, but they're already occupied planning the mega.

3a. There is a huge difference between planning for just over 500 and 5000.

4. The population density is much greater in Europe than it is in North America. The Northeast is the only part of this country that might have the population density to make it work.

5. Our country is too dependent on auto travel to get 5000 cachers in one place. Europeans are perfectly happy jumping on a train to go 5+ hours away for a weekend. They use mass transit on a regular basis.

Edited July 21, 2016 by wimseyguy

[+wmpastor]

 

I'd be pretty surprised to see a GIGA event in the USA any time soon.

...

5. Our country is too dependent on auto travel to get 5000 cachers in one place. Europeans are perfectly happy jumping on a train to go 5+ hours away for a weekend. They use mass transit on a regular basis.

 

Really fast rail travel will help. That won't arrive next year, though.

 

Track Work on the Portal BridgeTrack work on the Portal Bridge.

Introducing NextGen high-speed rail service in 2040 will require an implementation strategy that addresses short term needs of existing infrastructure as well as long term investments. Amtrak has adopted a phased, “Stair-Step” approach to NEC improvements, including two progressive and overlapping programs: the NEC Upgrade Program (NEC-Up) to upgrade existing Northeast Corridor infrastructure and the NextGen High-Speed Rail Program, which addresses the long-term development of a dedicated, two-track, high-speed rail alignment.

 

Amtrak is already moving forward with improvements to the existing corridor, detailed in the Improvement Projects section of this website. Many of these improvements are in planning or under construction. Concurrently, Amtrak is participating in the NEC FUTURE process, a comprehensive planning study and environmental review process led by the Federal Railroad Administration to evaluate future investment options for the Northeast Corridor. All investments related to NextGen high-speed rail must await the outcome of the NEC FUTURE (expected in 2016) to ensure consistency with the comprehensive vision developed for the corridor through this public process.

[/Quote]

 

Put it near a place where there's more to do after the event - and i don't mean Albany/Poughkeepsie (although there's a *great* hibachi and sushi restaurant within a mile of Albany airport)!

[+Mike in FN20hc]

I'd be pretty surprised to see a GIGA event in the USA any time soon.

...

5. Our country is too dependent on auto travel to get 5000 cachers in one place. Europeans are perfectly happy jumping on a train to go 5+ hours away for a weekend. They use mass transit on a regular basis.

 

Really fast rail travel will help. That won't arrive next year, though.

 

Track Work on the Portal BridgeTrack work on the Portal Bridge.

Introducing NextGen high-speed rail service in 2040 will require an implementation strategy that addresses short term needs of existing infrastructure as well as long term investments. Amtrak has adopted a phased, "Stair-Step" approach to NEC improvements, including two progressive and overlapping programs: the NEC Upgrade Program (NEC-Up) to upgrade existing Northeast Corridor infrastructure and the NextGen High-Speed Rail Program, which addresses the long-term development of a dedicated, two-track, high-speed rail alignment.

 

Amtrak is already moving forward with improvements to the existing corridor, detailed in the Improvement Projects section of this website. Many of these improvements are in planning or under construction. Concurrently, Amtrak is participating in the NEC FUTURE process, a comprehensive planning study and environmental review process led by the Federal Railroad Administration to evaluate future investment options for the Northeast Corridor. All investments related to NextGen high-speed rail must await the outcome of the NEC FUTURE (expected in 2016) to ensure consistency with the comprehensive vision developed for the corridor through this public process.

[/Quote]

 

Put it near a place where there's more to do after the event - and i don't mean Albany/Poughkeepsie (although there's a *great* hibachi and sushi restaurant within a mile of Albany airport)!

 

I don't expect a GIGA in the US any time soon either, for the reasons wimseyguy stated. I hadn't thought about other things to do when I suggested the area, just looked for a middle-ish spot with decent cache density, but you make another good point.

[+TeamRabbitRun]

 

Put it near a place where there's more to do after the event - and i don't mean Albany/Poughkeepsie (although there's a *great* hibachi and sushi restaurant within a mile of Albany airport)!

 

"Spanky's" in downtown Poughkeepsie. Great Cajun food; about two and a half miles from where I'm sitting here at work.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Put it near a place where there's more to do after the event - and i don't mean Albany/Poughkeepsie (although there's a *great* hibachi and sushi restaurant within a mile of Albany airport)!

 

"Spanky's" in downtown Poughkeepsie. Great Cajun food; about two and a half miles from where I'm sitting here at work.

 

Will they take a reservation for a party of 5000? On the other hand, Poughkeepsie isn't all that far from Woodstock, NY.

 

From what I've seen, several of the recent Geowoodstock events have been in relatively rural areas so proximity to places where there's more to do after the event may not be a requirement.

 

 

 

 

[+TeamRabbitRun]

Put it near a place where there's more to do after the event - and i don't mean Albany/Poughkeepsie (although there's a *great* hibachi and sushi restaurant within a mile of Albany airport)!

 

"Spanky's" in downtown Poughkeepsie. Great Cajun food; about two and a half miles from where I'm sitting here at work.

 

Will they take a reservation for a party of 5000? On the other hand, Poughkeepsie isn't all that far from Woodstock, NY.

 

From what I've seen, several of the recent Geowoodstock events have been in relatively rural areas so proximity to places where there's more to do after the event may not be a requirement.

 

Paddle-me-boy, sorry, sorry news. I JUST learned a few minutes ago that Spanky's has closed. A sad day.

 

And, if you're talking about Woodstock in terms of WOODSTOCK, remember, WOODSTOCK wasn't IN Woodstock!

[+wimseyguy]

Here are the actual requirements for hosting a future Geowoodstock. They don't specify rural vs. urban locations. The challenges and priorities are finding a suitable and affordable venue that is close enough to a major airport and metropolitan center with a decent geocaching community. It's not likely that you'll find many appropriate venues right in an urban area. And rural areas won't have the cache density nor a community of organizers to pull it off. Suburban venues offer the best balance. Only a very small number of past Geowoodstocks have been in truly rural areas.

 

This year's venue was a state park just outside of the Beltline highway only 15 miles from city center.

Last year's took place in Boonesboro MD a small town of only 3300. But it was only 50-60 miles from Washington DC and Baltimore.

GW12 took place in St Charles MO, one of the first suburbs outside of St Louis and 20 miles from city center.

GW11 was in Lakeland FL, a small city of over 100,000 and right off the interstates between Tampa and Orlando.

GWX was in Sellersburg IN just across the river from Louisville.

GW9 was in Warren PA at the county fairgrounds; probably the most rural setting we've had. But Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo are less than 150 miles away.

 

GWXV is in Waynesville, NC a small town of 10,000. But it's only 30 minutes from Asheville whose metro area has 250,000. And we're only 250 miles or less from many major metro areas including Cincinnati, Louisville, Nashville, Atlanta, and Charlotte all of which have very active caching communities. We're confident that there will be a great turnout.

[+igator210]

[From what I've seen, several of the recent Geowoodstock events have been in relatively rural areas so proximity to places where there's more to do after the event may not be a requirement.

 

A lot of the music fests are a destination event in and of themselves. Three days of entertainment at one venue with minimal travel to a place to sleep. This is why things like Woodstock and Bonnaroo attract large crowds. Even events like a Jazz fest or a Fringe fest attract a lot of people because of the amount of entertainment.

 

If I have to take time out of work to travel to some place, I want to be able to justify to myself why the money and time spent is an acceptable thing to do.

 

Would I make plans to go to a Mega in Partoun Utah (no offense to anyone from there) if it was just a single Mega event on one day? Probably not. The money and time involved to go would be counter productive. Would I make plans to go if there was a full weekend of activities? Maybe.... at least it would get my attention. I know Groundspeak has taken the approach that an event must be able to stand on its own, but people need an incentives to travel more than a few hours down the road.

 

I went to the last Block Party because there was a lot to do for the entire weekend: Block Party, HQ Tour, a Mega, several caching tours, a Meet and Greet event. There was so much going on that I couldn't get to it all. This is what it would take to get a Giga in America.

 

AND it would all have to be announced well in advance, not rolled out piecemeal a couple of weeks beforehand. No surprise announcement the day of the event. People need to arrange travel and places to stay. They need to schedule vacation time from work. They need to justify going.

Edited July 25, 2016 by igator210

[+The A-Team]

A GIGA requires 5000 will attends/attendeds.

To be clear, a Giga event does not require 5000 Will Attends or 5000 Attendeds; it requires 5000 attendees. That's individual people, not caching accounts. A family of four caching under a single account would count as four attendees toward the 5000. Likewise with Mega events that require 500 attendees. You can find many examples of events that were promoted to Mega status with less than 500 Will Attends or Attendeds.

[+Mike in FN20hc]

A GIGA requires 5000 will attends/attendeds.

To be clear, a Giga event does not require 5000 Will Attends or 5000 Attendeds; it requires 5000 attendees. That's individual people, not caching accounts. A family of four caching under a single account would count as four attendees toward the 5000. Likewise with Mega events that require 500 attendees. You can find many examples of events that were promoted to Mega status with less than 500 Will Attends or Attendeds.

 

For past event how has Groundspeak decided to allow GIGA status? With no history and without enough WAs I can't see them granting that until perhaps after the event, which sort of defeats the idea.

[+The A-Team]

A GIGA requires 5000 will attends/attendeds.

To be clear, a Giga event does not require 5000 Will Attends or 5000 Attendeds; it requires 5000 attendees. That's individual people, not caching accounts. A family of four caching under a single account would count as four attendees toward the 5000. Likewise with Mega events that require 500 attendees. You can find many examples of events that were promoted to Mega status with less than 500 Will Attends or Attendeds.

For past event how has Groundspeak decided to allow GIGA status? With no history and without enough WAs I can't see them granting that until perhaps after the event, which sort of defeats the idea.

Groundspeak has a (secret?) formula for deciding whether a given event will qualify in advance for Mega or Giga status based on how many Will Attends there are. When I've seen events promoted to Mega status, it usually seems to happen at around the 350 WA point. This would give a ratio of Will Attends:Attendees of about 1.4. If you think about the average number of people per caching account, 1.4 does seem like a safe average. There are lots of individuals, but also lots of families and couples. Assuming the same would apply to Giga events, an event would gain that status once it reached about the 3500 WA point. If I'm feeling bored later, I might do some analysis and determine at what point the three Gigas got their status.

 

In the end, the way to get to Giga status is to hold it in an area where there are enough potential attendees, and then market it as an attempt to reach Giga status. Somewhere in the eastern US would probably be the best candidate. The last block party in Seattle was probably one of the biggest draws in North America, and it only garnered ~2500 Attendeds, which is probably about 1000 short of Giga status. If something similar were held on the more-populous east coast, it might just have a chance. It would also be closer to Europe and could draw more overseas visitors, and close enough to the most-populous part of Canada that lots would come down.

[+wimseyguy]

Trust me I would love to see a Giga event on this continent, it's the only icon I am missing. But for the reasons I outlined in post #9 I'm doubtful it will happen anytime soon.

 

The 5th Berkshire Mega was held 2 Saturdays ago, and only has 491 attended logs. Last year's drew 610.

Boston and NYC are both within 150 miles of it, and almost all of that on interstate highways. I haven't attended one of these yet, but do know the area well and doubt that the venue could handle 5000.

 

There have been two NYC area Metro Mega events so far, and a third one is scheduled for this fall.

So far they've had 658 attended logs in 2014 and 459 logs last year. That's a long way from getting 5000 cachers in one place.

Edited July 26, 2016 by wimseyguy

[+rickdorsey8080]

Tonight in Jacksonville, the NFL's Jaguars opened its stadium for two hours for a free Pokemon Go event. The estimated crowd on a Monday night was roughly 10,000! That's insane if you think about it. There's a novelty to that game for sure, but I think it speaks to something bigger about caching. I hate to think this but it's maybe a synopsis of how caching has lost the millenials market. Caching has been around going on 16 years and the best ever gathering on a single day in this country is not even half of a Monday night crowd in Jacksonville? Those aren't very good tea leaves to read.

 

I was at GW14er in Denver this July and I attended the Berkshires mega a year ago. What I saw at both places made me concerned for caching's future. I've been caching for 2.5 years. The friends I've made are dedicated and passionate about caching. But it's a small group of people. Whenever I attend events, it's usually the same crowd that shows up. It's extremely rare to see a gathering of more than 50. What I don't see is a lot of growth in exposing new people to caching. So while I would really like to see caching explode and make a giga event a typical occurrence, I don't see that happening anytime soon.

 

But if the U.S. Giga was something that we as a community really wanted, I would suggest a few things: 1. Make it a centralized destination location allowing people to travel for a long weekend at major airports, i.e. Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Orlando, Vegas; 2. Reduce the number of Megas throughout the year. It may seem counterintuitive, but more events just siphon away possible attendees. Try to make the Giga a special must-go occasion once a year to maximize visibility. 3. Tie the Film Festival to it; try to draw musical entertainment; or host a semi-formal event. Bottom line, do something to make it a weekend festival, not just a 7-hour day. One highlight at GW14 for me were the three different events I attended, to include the Pikes Peak journey and midnight capitol bash.

 

Ok, those are just a few things of the top of my head at 1 am.

 

Rick Dorsey

[+redsox_mark]

It's a "chicken and egg" thing. It seems in the US (and it is the same here in the UK), that there hasn't been enough interest to "naturally" have a MEGA evolve into a GIGA. Partly because of the number of MEGAs. But, I know a lot of people who traveled from the UK to Munich for the first GIGA, and that is not a easy trip. It is a flight, or a long bus ride (or long train ride, or long car drive). The people I know who did it organized a bus trip, finding caches in countries on the way.

 

If there was a GIGA in the US I think people would travel long distances to get the icon.

 

I.e. if you took one of the larger US events - which as a MEGA only would get 2000, and give it GIGA status (and enough publicity), it would get GIGA attendance (I believe). I.e. declaring an event a GIGA could make it a GIGA.

[+BlackRose67]

But if the U.S. Giga was something that we as a community really wanted, I would suggest a few things: 1. Make it a centralized destination location allowing people to travel for a long weekend at major airports, i.e. Chicago, Atlanta, Denver, Orlando, Vegas;

Having such an event further north could also draw folks from Canada to attend, but at the risk of folks from the southern portions of the US passing on it?

[+igator210]

Crafting a Giga, for North America:

 

1) Find a place within a 3(ish) hour drive of two decent sized cities, and plenty of hotels / camping within 15 minutes of the venue

2) A Meet and Greet Food Truck Rodeo loggable event Friday night, at the venue, with musical entertainment

3) The main Giga event on Saturday with a souvenir

4) A GIFF loggable event Saturday night with a souvenir at the venue

5) A loggable event at the venue on Sunday. Either a simple goodbye event or a Lost and Found special event

6) A CITO loggable event to help cleanup the area on Sunday

7) All weekend the GPS Adventure Maze

8) All weekend a kids fun zone, maybe even a carnival

9) Announce all this at least 6 months in advance

 

Yes, this is a pipe dream, but I could totally justify going all across the country to something like this. Heck, I'd even go to another country for something like this.

[+rickdorsey8080]

Igator, it's like you are reading my mind. I'd throw in a couple of caveats: 1. Don't have this every year. Make it every 4 years, like the Olympics or the election, to really emphasize the importance of attending. 2. As for spots to hold it, I'd nominate Chicagoland first. Center of the country, two major international airports, lots of hotels, normally decent weather in the summer, and the area is flooded with caches.

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

Igator, it's like you are reading my mind. I'd throw in a couple of caveats: 1. Don't have this every year. Make it every 4 years, like the Olympics or the election, to really emphasize the importance of attending. 2. As for spots to hold it, I'd nominate Chicagoland first. Center of the country, two major international airports, lots of hotels, normally decent weather in the summer, and the area is flooded with caches.

 

A proposal for Geowoodstock was submitted by a group from RI a few years ago. We had support from the State (Convention and Visitor's Bureau up to the Governor's Office). The Convention Bureau was behind us 100% and will to do what ever it took to help us make this a reality. We had a venue large enough to support a Giga-Event. We had inexpensive housing and food arrangements (beyond camping) to support a Giga. There were other activities and side trips that would have spanned a long weekend.

 

RI is close to Boston and NYC airports (providing direct flight access from Europe and much of the USA) as well as Providence Airport, and an easy train ride from Philly, Baltimore and DC. There is plenty of hotel space outside of Newport available (outside of Newport the summer is the off season). It would have provided a jumping off point for caching adventures around New England.

 

We didn't get selected.

[+palmetto]

....

Groundspeak has a (secret?) formula for deciding whether a given event will qualify in advance for Mega or Giga status based on how many Will Attends there are. When I've seen events promoted to Mega status, it usually seems to happen at around the 350 WA point....

 

The secret formula on Giga can be in the Help Center, here

See point 8. Giga-Events must demonstrate that they will reach 5000 attendees before they will be upgraded from Mega-Event status. New events will be required to surpass 4000 Will Attend logs ....

 

The secret formula on Mega can be found in the Help Center here

See point 11. New events will be required to surpass 500 Will Attend logs before they are considered for Mega-Event status. Events with history will be evaluated based on a minimum of 300 Attended logs from the previous year as well as.....

 

edit bad link

Edited July 27, 2016 by palmetto

[+rickdorsey8080]

Wolf, I didn't realize that. Having spent a year in Rhode Island, I know it would have been a well supported event by the local caching community.

Edited July 27, 2016 by rickdorsey8080

[+rickdorsey8080]

Wolf, I didn't realize that. Having spent a year in Rhode Island, I know it would have been a well supported event by the local caching community.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Igator, it's like you are reading my mind. I'd throw in a couple of caveats: 1. Don't have this every year. Make it every 4 years, like the Olympics or the election, to really emphasize the importance of attending. 2. As for spots to hold it, I'd nominate Chicagoland first. Center of the country, two major international airports, lots of hotels, normally decent weather in the summer, and the area is flooded with caches.

 

A proposal for Geowoodstock was submitted by a group from RI a few years ago. We had support from the State (Convention and Visitor's Bureau up to the Governor's Office). The Convention Bureau was behind us 100% and will to do what ever it took to help us make this a reality. We had a venue large enough to support a Giga-Event. We had inexpensive housing and food arrangements (beyond camping) to support a Giga. There were other activities and side trips that would have spanned a long weekend.

 

RI is close to Boston and NYC airports (providing direct flight access from Europe and much of the USA) as well as Providence Airport, and an easy train ride from Philly, Baltimore and DC. There is plenty of hotel space outside of Newport available (outside of Newport the summer is the off season). It would have provided a jumping off point for caching adventures around New England.

 

We didn't get selected.

 

That's too bad. The Newport area would be a wonderful area for a GW event.

 

 

[+J Grouchy]

The only event I'm less interested in than a Mega is a Giga. Nothing is less about caching to me than big events with lots of people (obviously the keywords being "to me").