If you’re looking for a fun activity this weekend, look no further: Seattle-based Geocaching is throwing a block party to celebrate 15 years of treasure-hunting awesomeness.
The Geocaching Block Party is this weekend in Fremont, with the main events starting on Friday and continuing Saturday.
On Friday, enjoy the Geocaching International Film Festival, featuring geocaching movies from around the world, 8-10 p.m. at Gas Works Park. Saturday is the main day with events happening at Fremont’s Solstice Plaza (837 N. 34th St.). Pose for the group photo with global geocachers at 11 a.m., then embark on a geocache search with your team.
In case you’ve never geocached, it’s dubbed the “world’s largest treasure hunt.” Players use GPS-guided apps or devices to find hidden containers worldwide. According to Geocaching, more than 2.6 million geocaches have been discovered in more than 185 countries.
Geocaching co-founder and CEO Jeremy Irish told us his theory behind the game’s popularity on GeekWire radio in 2011:
I think we all have this nature to explore. It’s something that’s in all of us. And because we’ve pretty much explored the planet, there’s only the extremes you can do these days to really see something new. People want to have that sense of exploration. It’s like finding these adventures in your own backyard.
Geocaching won Bootstrapper of the Year at the 2014 GeekWire Awards. We wrote: “In true bootstrapping spirit, the founders received their initial capital by selling 144 donated geocaching t-shirts, starting the company out of Irish’s spare bedroom.
“Not bad, considering the company has grown into a force in the geocaching world and now hosts an annual festival near its headquarters in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood, one that draws fans from all over the world.”
Block Party coordinators are expecting more than 3,000 people of all ages from over 20 countries to attend this weekend’s events.
One guest will be Bob Cizaukas who made the treasure hunt in space possible, according to this Geocaching blog post. In 2013, Cizaukas asked International Space Station astronaut Rick Mastracchio to take 11 trackables with him so elementary school students could follow ISS astronauts’ adventures in space. Cizaukas will bring one of the space trackables to the block party for others to check out.
There are tons of photo ops and other activities for kids, food trucks galore, and seminars on upping your geocaching game scheduled for Saturday, too. The events are free and open to all ages. For more info on the schedules and other details, visit the Geocaching Block Party site here.
Below, the trailer for the Geocaching International Film Festival:
