Welcome all to the 26th Annual Kansas City Area Picnic!
Date: Saturday, September 26, 2026
Time: 10am - 2pm
Location: Celebration Park, Gardner, KS
This event is rain or shine!
Registration is closed! If you have any modifications to your RSVP, please contact me through message.
Activities Schedule
9:00 AM - Between the CITO and start of the picnic, some new geocaches will be published in the general Gardner area. Come early to snag you some FTFs!
10:00 AM - Picnic Shelter open. Raffle tickets and shirts available for pickup/purchase. There will also be a "Get to know your fellow Geocachers" Bingo and door prize.
11:00 AM - Lunch will start - bring your hunger as we will have BBQ and all the fixin's! Catered by Guy & Mae's Bare Butt BBQ in Williamsburg, KS!
12:30 PM - Official picnic photo will be taken either in front of the railing by the ponds or the stone hearth by the shelter.
12:45 PM - Raffle and Bingo cards closed.
1:00 PM - Raffle/Door Prize winners selected
1:30 PM - Farewell comments and future event announcements
2:00 PM - Pickup and area restoration
Registration
Please post your Will Attend log and fill out the registration form so we can have your nametag, shirts, raffle tickets, raffle prizes, and volunteer preferences known prior to the event, and how many folks to expect for the picnic. Registrations close September 2, 2026, to allow time for our vendors to accommodate our picnic. Announcements will be sent a week prior to the cut-off so you get plenty of time to make your decision! We will accept walk-ups but if you did not pre-register, please wait until the end of the food line to ensure those who did register get their food first, as we will be planning for a specific size of group.
We do not have any mock-ups, but the shirt design is the above logo on the back, with "26th Annual Kansas City Area Picnic" and the date on the front.
Food & Drinks
This event will be a potluck! KCGO will be providing the main courses to include polish sausage, ham, brisket, and smokedvturkey, catered by Guy & Mae's Bare Butt BBQ in Williamsburg, KS. Sides include cole slaw, bread, and BBQ sauce. We will also be providing all plates, forks, knives, etc. Please bring any additional sides, chips, desserts, and other foods you wish to share. KCGO will also be providing bottles of water and ice. If you have a specific drink of your choice, please bring it with you. Park restrictions include no glass dishes or bottles. We will also accept donations of drinks and Solo cups which can be shared with everyone. KCGO will not be keeping food from this event outside what is provided - please take leftovers home with you!
If you have any specific food allergies or needs - please indicate on the form and we will attempt to either provide alternatives or inform the caterer of your food allergies so we can ensure the picnic is safe for everyone! If your specific allergy cannot be accommodated, we will communicate to you before the picnic so you can bring along alternatives.
Please note making the lunch and event free is only made possible from purchases through the raffle, shirts, and other donations!
Raffle Prizes
We are accepting donations for raffle prizes! Please list any donations you would like to make on the registration form or contact myself or TashMe0w for any donations you would like to make. All proceeds go towards future picnics. Each registered participant will receive one raffle ticket when checking in, and those who purchase a picnic T-shirt will receive an additional pack of 6 for free. Additional tickets will be sold for $1 each or 6 for $5.
Volunteers
To make a successful picnic, we will need a handful of volunteers. Please indicate on the form what role(s) you would like to fill - first come first serve. We plan on some perks for those who will be volunteers, possibly to include a special shirt color, discounted shirt pricing, and extra raffle tickets!
Park Amenities
Celebration Park is very family-friendly. It has a large playground, allows fishing in the ponds, and is an excellent area to bring your scooters and skateboards. Enjoy the walking trails to stretch your legs during the picnic! Restrooms are located in the concessions building next to where the food will be set up. There are several older caches in the park, with more to be published on picnic day.
Others
We will have a trackables table and a few other activities such as chalk art. In addition to the published caches, we will set up a few temporary kid's caches with plenty of swag for the event. While the shelters are quite large, please consider bringing your own lawn chairs as there likely will not be room for everyone at the tables. Feel free to bring your own lawn games such as cornhole to enjoy. The park allows all pets, but they must be leashedand picked up after.
Let's have a fun picnic! See you all there!