2025 marks the 25th anniversary of geocaching. We’re excited to share this milestone with the global geocaching community through Community Celebration Events!

But what’s the secret to a spectacular geocaching Event? We asked the co-hosts of Maine’s second-longest running Event, Get Useless In Eustis (GUIE), for their advice.

No two Events are the same, but their words of wisdom hold true whether you’re hosting a week-long Mega or an intimate gathering of geo-friends at a local coffee shop. So pull up a chair, grab a pen, and get ready to take notes!

It all starts with an idea
Hosting an Event can seem daunting at first. But large or small, it has to start somewhere. For kayaking loon, it started with a question. “How do I get people to come here to geocache?” And everyone answered, “Have an event.” Thus, Maine’s first annual Get Useless In Eustis (GC1AM94) was born!

The hardest part, recalls kayaking loon, was figuring out what to do. “I liked meeting people, finding caches in the woods, kayaking, mountain climbing, eating, camping, campfires. So I just tossed all those things together.”

Sounds pretty good to us!

Many hands make light work
Since GUIE’s humble start in 2008, this Event has grown into a weekend-long geo-jamboree! Eventually, a group of local geocachers, including mainiac1957 and TAT, got together to create the “Friends of GUIE” to keep this Event (and its many side Events) running smoothly. Old friends or new, all attendees are encouraged to bring a dish to share in GUIE’s annual picnic!

Don’t forget the fun!
All that hard work certainly paid off! From costumed kayaking to geo-art, potlucks to piñatas, there’s an activity for every geocacher! TAT’s favorite memories include the “non-competitive competitions each year.”
“The competitions have included: a themed kayak decoration and parade each year, a race to a prize float, and a piñata. The piñata has been Signal the Frog twice (the first one failed) and a DNF”—TAT

In a nutshell
The Friends of GUIE summarized their advice in one sentence:
“Start small, let everyone who wants to help, add on something new every year.”—Kayaking Loon
“Keep the event fun and social.”—TAT
“If you host it, they will come.”—Mainiac1957

We couldn’t have said it better ourselves!

Rain or shine, attendees leave GUIE with a smile from ear to ear, and the log books are full of promises to come back the following year.

Feeling inspired? We want to hear your ideas for 2025 Community Celebration Events! Share your ideas in the comments below!