Let the Celebrations Begin!!
The year after I started geocaching held the celebrations for the 10th anniversary of geocaching. Well HQ has announced the celebrations for 2020. It has been 20 years, and it is time.
Background
I remember back in 2010, a number of ideas were passed around to celebrate. It all eveolved into a weekend. Cachers would gather and have events to celebrate the 10th anniversary of geocaching. They were called the Lost and Found Events.
Well you had to hear about it, then request your cache be changed to a lost and found event. They had to have special naming, take a photo at the event, etc. My friend Peanutsparents and i planned a day around them. Traveling from Morgan in the wee hours of the morning and ending at an event I held that night. I think we hit six or seven events on the race through the day. I remember a packed house at a hamburger place, and people just seemed to come out of the woodwork. In my opinion, it was one of the biggest caching day in Utah. It just seemed everyone was out.
The downside, it was just the one weekend. If you did not get the icon that weekend, you were out of luck.
And now….
So here we are again. At a new event season. Happily HQ extended that window. HQ decided that starting in January they would give out 2020 special lost and found events every month. You have to hold your events after May 2nd and the end of the year.
So you need to make sure you sign up. At the bottom of this page there is a button to click. You must have attended a few events in the last three years, and you have to have found two caches in the last six months to be considered active. All of this is based on data from Dec 2nd. So you cant go back and back date finds and get an ok. I am pretty sure HQ did this to prevent people from gaming the system.
Those people have a chance to win one of the 20,200 events to be held around the world. So remember to give it a shot and click the event. There will be some geographic distribution done. How much, I do not know. But they want to spread them out around the world.
The opt in page will only exist until June 3rd, so remember to log on soon. I am guessing as the year rolls on more and more people will sign up, so the people given them in January and Febuary will have the best shot.
Limits?
Well, they events have to last 2 hours. It is a celebration after all. So plan activities, and fun things to do. This is no meet and greet event.
You cant have them within 25 miles (40Km) of a Mega Event on the two days before and day after. Those are someones events after all.
You only get one… no more.
Meet all other guidelines. No stacking of these events, commercial events, etc.
My Recommendations
I would not place one if there is another one in the same weekend, or same area. There are many days in the year, lets celebrate and give many the chance to participate. Spread them out.
Plan something fun. Food, or something else.
Get/make prizes, buy trackables, or just fun things to share. Many people shared signature items in years past. Do that again, go and get some Extags, pathtags, or have geocoins made.
Share in geocachings history, QnA with old timers, reviewers, or share stories.