This Labour Day weekend, Gold Country is the place to be. Gold Country Communities Society (GCCS) is hosting their 4th annual Gold Country Geocache Event. The event also happens to be the Trust’s 2000th approved project. The geocaching weekend runs September 2 to 5, giving participants a chance to explore all participating communities: Lillooet, Clinton, Loon Lake and Cache Creek. The event will highlight 144 geocache sites throughout the area on hiking trails and in town. The weekend will have a variety of fun events in the communities. Participants can expect barbecues, pancake breakfasts and movie nights.
Geocaching is a modern treasure hunt. GPS technology is used to locate boxes hidden throughout the region to uncover small treasures left behind. Sites and their coordinates can be downloaded to find clues leading to each cache. Geocachers then sign log books and swap the treasures left behind with something of theirs before re-hiding it for others to find.
“Gold Country is so very grateful for the financial support that we get from Northern Development. The funding that they provide to our various initiatives that we have to increase tourism and economic development in our region, gives our marketing a level we would never be able to obtain without their support,” says Terri Hadwin of Gold Country Communities Society.
Gold Country geocaching event
Being able to access grant funding for small-budget events is an incredible asset.
“The ‘Fabulous Festivals and Events’ program is so very needed. To put on our annual geocaching event takes a great amount of staff and volunteer time. Fundraising for events can be difficult while trying to budget, plan, market and execute an event. Having this financial support makes it so much easier to devote time to marketing and planning,” says Hadwin.
For this event, Northern Development and GCCS have created special “trust tokens”, which will be hidden in geocaches throughout the area. These can be found in the permanent Gold Country GeoTour geocaches, or earned at daily events. Geocachers who collect 10 of the Trust’s tokens can redeem them for one of 30 limited edition geocoins.
“On average we have about 400 unique entry logs for the geocaching weekend,” she says. “About 90 per cent of the participants are from outside the Gold Country region.” Hadwin adds that organizers have been told that some people plan their yearly vacation around the annual event. “We have people come from Alberta and Seattle every year.”
