Hosting  GeoWoodstock

Many people do not realize that GeoWoodstock travels across the country or even farther, always hosted by a local Geocaching group, with the support and guidance of the GeoWoodstock Committee, made up of former hosts. If you are interested in hosting the event, you can learn more here.

So what does it take to host the next version of the World's Original Mega Event? The Godfather himself summed it up as desire, enthusiasm, a great location and a commitment to Geocaching. Although, there are many factors that contribute to a winning proposal, all submissions need to address the points that JoGPS himself set out for the event. So here is what it takes to host GeoWoodstock in Joe's own words:

We do not expect every bid to answer every single point in a positive way but the points that include "must" or "mandatory" will not be compromised. Some points do not have this wording but obviously would be deal breakers if they could not be met e.g. venue size. We encourage all who are interested to submit an offer to host this fine event!

1. DESIRE! to Host the worlds Oldest Mega Geocaching Event

2. You had to be there!

A. "Feel" of the event must be maintained!
B. Past GeoWoodstock attendance by prospective hosts is necessary to know what worked and what didn't.
C. Date of event must be the Saturday of either Memorial Day weekend or July 4th weekend, unless there is a compelling reason for us to consider a date change.

3. Local Organization

A. Enthusiasm!
B. Experience with holding events
C. Longevity of group
D. Sufficient volunteers to staff event.

4. Venue Requirements

A. Venue must be large enough to support expected crowd.
B. The venue must be Geocaching friendly! GeoWoodstock cannot be held in a park that does not allow Geocaching unless prior arrangements are made.
C. Local tourism board involvement a plus!
D. Parking! Parking! Parking! (or a well thought out shuttle system)
E. Availability of vendor area to help recoup expenses. Local laws, sales taxes, etc. must be adhered to!
F. Suitable PA system that can be heard by all attendees within the main area of the event.

5. Financing

A. Financial integrity a must!
B. Deep pockets not required but helpful. Hosting an event for thousands can be very expensive and requires responsible budgeting.
C.  This is not a big money maker but has not lost any money either, past hosts have chosen to donate any profit to local organizations.
D. Event attendance is FREE and must stay that way! (a fee to enter a not-for-profit area, like a state park, is acceptable.) Event registrations may be sold to help fund the event, but there must always be a free option for attendance.
E. Silent or regular auction possibility for funding event.

6. Geocaching

A. High density of well maintained, quality caches a big plus, (high density not a deal breaker but the caches in the area must be well-maintained.
B. Planned cache runs not mandatory but highly suggested e.g. before or after. GW3 offered cache runs, historical, 4X4, drive bys for the mobility impaired or for numbers runners were the best so far. Believe it or not this was one of three things that Groundspeak officials said was needed for better mingling and fun for attendees , these can be done with just bookmark list, does not have to be guided.
C. GeoWoodstock is a one day event! Early bird meet-n-greets, after events as allowed by Groundspeak as long as GeoWoodstock itself is a one day event.

7.  Must use the Geowoodstock.com  web address maintained by Groundspeak and linked to your website for information about the event with updates.

8. Everything related to the event must be within Groundspeak guidelines, we do work with them.

9. The hosts of the current event will control the use of the GeoWoodstock (trademarked ) name on anything, meaning: if a vendor or anyone wishes to make anything with the name for the event. The event hosts will receive a portion of the proceeds to help offset the cost of the event.

10. All donations of any kind that are spoken of on the Geocaching event page or off site web site like for like registration, forums , MUST HAVE GROUNDSPEAK approval. No exception. 

One last item, we are always asked if you have to supply lunch with most paid registrations, the answer is yes you have to, but please remember this is your largest fund-raising stream, you will be very glad you did it.

Joe “JoGPS” Armstrong

Now accepting proposals for GeoWoodstock XXI to be held in 2025. All proposals must be submitted by March 31, 2024 to be considered.

There are no particular format restrictions for proposals, as Joe did not want to hamper the creativity of host committees, but all submissions should, at a minimum, address all of the above points.  

Please send "electronic" submissions to: Monkeybrad "at" gmail.com

If you prefer to send a physical packet as part or whole of your bid submission please send enough copies for the entire committee to:

GeoWoodstock Committee
Attn: Brad Simmons
2924 Unionville Road
Chapel Hill, TN 37034