SALAMANCA - Final preparations are under way at Allegany State Park for a three-day event that has grown by leaps and bounds in its five-year existence.
The fifth annual Allegany State Park Geobash will take place May 21-23 at Camp Allegany in the Red House Area of the park. The event is organized each year by area geocachers. According to Barb Brown, chairman of the Geobash committee, the Geobash has gone from a local event to an international one in the five short years since it was founded in 2006.
''Originally, it was mostly local people from Pennsylvania and New York who knew the park,'' she said. ''Now we have people from Canada, Europe and all over coming.''
Article Photos
Geocaches such as this are hidden all over Allegany State Park, and hundreds of geocachers from around the world will be in the park May 21-23 for the fifth annual Allegany State Park Geobash.
P-J photo by Dave Emke
At ASP Geobash IV in 2009, more than 750 attendees came from 18 states, five Canadian provinces and Germany. Ms. Brown said RSVPs have already come in from England this year as well as those locations.
With more than one million geocaches available worldwide, geocaching is a hobby that has gained a great deal of popularity since being invented 10 years ago. A geocache is a box of trinkets, most often an ammo box or tupperware container, that is hidden on public property or on private property with the permission of the landowner. Latitude and longitude of the hide are posted online, and geocachers locate the boxes using handheld GPS receivers, trade items and post logs of their adventures online.
While geocaching itself is what will bring everyone together for the weekend at Allegany State Park - and there are plans to place up to 20 new caches in the park for the event - there will be much more to do than just look for boxes in the woods.
Friday evening's list of activities will include a family movie, a Native American storyteller and a bonfire in addition to the Geobash tradition of night caching - searching for geocaches in the woods with the help of firetacks and flashlights. On Saturday morning, educational seminars will be offered including wilderness first aid, geocaching in scouting and dog first aid. There will also be an ammo can toss for all ages and a pinata for the kids. Saturday night will include special guests from Groundspeak, geocaching.com headquarters in Seattle, as well as a dance and more night caching. Sunday morning will bring a free pancake breakfast for all who remain.
Booths from Cattaraugus County Tourism - which has set up a geocaching trail through the county called the Enchanted Mountains GeoTrail - and the Red Cross of Southwestern New York will also be set up to provide information and assistance to anyone who needs it.
With people coming from far and wide to enjoy the festivities, Ms. Brown said the main emphasis is to make sure that people of all ages have a good time.
''We try to keep everything family-friendly - that's where we head with our event,'' she said.
A Chinese auction will also be held Saturday afternoon during the event, with prizes including an overnight stay at the Holiday Inn and Express in Salamanca, as well as items from Cabela's, Groundspeak, Case and Zippo and many others. Any business or individual who is interested in donating an item to the raffle can contact committee member Beth Grimes by e-mailing bmg617@yahoo.com.
No purchase is necessary to attend the event and take part in any of the festivities. For more information about the event, go to www.aspgeobash.com or go to Facebook and search for ''Allegany State Park Geobash.''
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