This year marks the 15th anniversary of geocaching, the geeky, GPS-enabled treasure-hunting activity that has become popular around the world. The Seattle-based company that runs Geocaching.com is also celebrating its 15th birthday in 2015.
To celebrate, organizers of the annual Geocaching Block Party are inviting treasure hunters to the Solstice Plaza in Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood on Aug. 15 for an adventure-filled afternoon. This free event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and all are welcome.
Super-enthusiasts can make a full weekend of it and check out the Geocaching International Film Festival on Friday, Aug. 14 followed by the Washington State Geocaching Association’s Going APE Mega-Event on Aug. 16.
More information is available here.
That’s one of the selections from the GeekWire Calendar, our curated list of the Pacific Northwest’s top tech events. Keep reading and visit the full calendar for more.
PAX Seattle
What: “In 2004, the folks at Penny Arcade decided they wanted a show exclusively for gaming. Sure, comics, anime, and other nerd hobbies were cool, and those activities all had their own shows… so what about games? From that idea spawned a small 4,500 person event in Bellevue, Washington, focused on the culture and community that is gaming. Since then, the show hasn’t looked back. Doubling in size each year until venue capacities were reached, in 2010 the show expanded into Boston for PAX East, drawing tens of thousands of attendees in the inaugural year. The shows in Seattle and Boston represent the two largest gaming events in North America!”
When: August 28 – 31.
Where: Washington State Convention Center, Seattle.
This event is sold out.
DigiPen Day 2015
What: “This event marks the five-year anniversary of the ribbon-cutting ceremony of DigiPen’s current facilities, where Mayor John Marchione officially declared August 27, 2010 “DigiPen Day” in the city of Redmond. This year, we will open our doors to the public once again and invite everyone in the community to play, create, and explore the worlds of gaming and art with us! Activities Include: Industry talks from DigiPen faculty, T-shirt tie-dye station, Temporary tattoos, Lunch and carnival food, Green screen photo-booth, Inflatable obstacle course, And more!”
When: August 22, 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Where: DigiPen Campus, Redmond.
Register: RSVP for free here.
New Tech Eastside 
What: “New Tech Eastside is the largest monthly event on the Eastside, and is the new sister event to New Tech Seattle, Seattle’s largest monthly event. This is where you’ll connect with smart, fun, creative people from across the full spectrum of our tech community form startup to enterprise. We’d love you to join us on the 1st or 2nd Tuesday of every month to experience and enjoy great food and drinks, learn about new companies doing cool things, laugh, smile, and have a fun night out. …Did we mention that drinks are allowed in the theater while you watch the presentations? Most importantly, you’ll discover the people, partners, organizations, and resources to help you to build your dreams.”
When: August 18, 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Where: Kirkland Performance Center, Kirkland.
Register: Tickets are on sale for $10 here.
Open Stack Day Seattle
What: “OpenStack Day Seattle 2015 is the first one-day OpenStack conference to be held in Seattle, Washington. In conjunction with LinuxCon Seattle (August 17 – 19, 2015), the OpenStack Day Seattle conference will be a gathering of the region’s OpenStack users and prospective users dedicated to the open source cloud technology. The aim of the conference is to present the latest technological updates and improvements of OpenStack Cloud technology, talk to other OpenStack enthusiasts to share knowledge and to showcase the local OpenStack deployments.”
When: August 20, 8 a.m. – 7:30 p.m.
Where: Washington Athletic Club, Seattle.
Register: Tickets are on sale for $50 here.
