COG Event Hosting
From July 2006 (thanks to Nawty) up until early 2020… there had been a COG Event somewhere each month.
This page should help those who aren’t sure how to organize or create an Event (or CITO) make their first leap.
Planning
Ensure you have read the Geocaching Guidelines and checked the Geocaching Knowledgebase to be sure you know what an Event/CITO is all about!
Check to see if there are other events going on nearby (that way, you don't miss out attending the OTHER event as you'll be hosting yours!).
Arrange your event day/time with your venue -- that could be in Barrie, Orillia, Newmarket, Midland, Collingwood, Bermuda, Cuba, Peru, Florida or anywhere in-between!
If your event venue is a restaurant (for example) - when you contact your event venue, make sure they know that everyone will want separate bills and they won't all be arriving at once.
Keep your venue informed; always call them a week before to make sure they didn't forget!
If you want to host a COG event in Midland on the same day that there is an event in Sutton... why not? Just make sure you aren’t “stacking” events; leaving a 4-5 hours between nearby events is a good way to ensure Reviewers don’t poke you with sticks for “event stacking”.
Check the latest guidance from the Reviewers in the Ontario Regional Geocaching Policies Wiki
With a CITO - make sure you have arranged with the town/municipality/property owner so that any collected items can be disposed of properly. You can ask folks to bring their own gloves and garbage bags… or you can provide them. Take a look at other CITO events (past and present) in Ontario to get an idea of CITO page text.
The Event Cache Page
You do NOT need a log book for events - so there’s no need to mention them in the listing at all.
Include the word "COG" in the (super cool and catchy) title of the Event when and submit it for Review.
It's encouraged to have an event with a social element; meeting/chatting with other geocachers is a GREAT way to keep established everyone entertained.. and informed!
Example Event Page HTML
The generic HTML text below can be copy/pasted into a new cache page (in the </> Source view)
The resultant page will display a centred COG Logo
Modify the text as you need to suite your requirements!
<h1 style="text-align:center"><strong>A COG Community Event</strong></h1>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align:center"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/gs-geo-images/06ea78ea-12d8-4abb-a726-c19d1fb92de0.gif" /></p>
<h2 style="text-align:center"><strong>A Meet and Greet for all geocachers</strong></h2>
<h3> </h3>
<p>Where : Venue Name, Address</p>
<p>When : Date, Time</p>
<p>The venue has seating for <strong>##</strong> </p>
<p>You only need to drop by and say "Hello!" during the Event to log your <strong>Attend</strong>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p><strong>Words, words, words, words, words, words, words, words, what to expect, what to experience, words, words, words and even more words, words, words if you want words, words, words.</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p>Please indicate the number of attendees in your party in your <strong>Will Attend</strong> log.</p>
<p> </p>