GIFF Weekend is on it’s way! From November 5-8, the reel of 16 finalist films from this year’s Geocaching International Film Festival will be played in living rooms, community halls, and even movie theaters around the world.

How to host your own GIFF Event

Find a GIFF Event near You

If your GIFF Weekend event has been published on Geocaching.com and you’ve submitted this form, it will be listed in this bookmark list if it’s been approved to receive the GIFF film reel. Once that’s done, check out these 6 tips on hosting a great GIFF movie night!

1. Test Your Equipment!
The Official 2015 GIFF Reel will become available on Monday, Nov. 2nd. If possible, test out the file on the equipment you will be using at your event. Nobody has fun at parties where there are technical difficulties.

2. Engage Your Attendees!
Geocachers go to events to meet other geocachers, share stories, and learn about the game. The GIFF films will certainly achieve these goals, but what is going to make your event special to those in attendance? Here are a few ideas:

• Host a raffle with geocaching prizes
• If a GIFF filmmaker is in attendance, invite them to do a Q&A after the screening about their creative process
• Organize a vote and send the the winning filmmaker something special from your event
• Wear a banana suit

3. To Announce (Or Not To Announce)?
“Welcome to this GIFF Weekend event! We’ve got 16 great films to watch today, but first, a joke: An ammo can, a bison tube, and a lock-n-lock walk into a bar…” Announcers or emcees can make or break an event. Know someone with the right voice, charisma, and quick-footed-thinking to pull it off? If so, send them a care package and a nicely-written note asking them to be a part of your event. If not, no worries. The GIFF reel includes slides with the title of each upcoming film, as well as a quick intro and outro animation.

4. Make Yourselves Comfortable
You could be hosting your GIFF Weekend event in the Colosseum (seriously, tell us if you are), but the guests who end up watching the show standing in the back for a whole hour aren’t going to care too much about the view. Make sure you provide adequate seating at your event or ask your guests to bring their own. Don’t be afraid to get creative. Bean bags, yoga mats, and mattresses are all good options. Large, fluffy, amiable dogs make for good backrests.

5. Let There Be Snacks
Research indicates that eating popcorn stimulates the part of the body that makes you want to eat more popcorn. As every completely objective third-party outsider would agree, popcorn is basically the best way a person can consume corn. It’s fairly healthy (sans globules of butter) and lends itself to being coated with herbs and spices. Want to make things interesting? Try sprinkling nutritional yeast on your popcorn for a cheesy yet surprisingly dairy-free flavor.

6. Know The Films
Here is the list of finalist films, geocacher names and countries they’re from, and order they screen in:

What other tips do you have for GIFF Weekend event hosts? Share yours and we’ll add them to the list!