Throughout a five-day span, Clermont County welcomed over 9,000 visitors into the Cincinnati region for GeoWoodstock XVI. This event brought in an estimated two thousand more visitors than originally projected, making this the largest geocaching event ever held in the United States, leaving a powerful economic impact to the Clermont County community.
GeoWoodstock XVI is an annual event that travels to a new destination each year. This year, the event was awarded to the Clermont County Convention & Visitors Bureau and AFK Geocaching, who cohosted the event in Clermont County and the surrounding Cincinnati area.
The main event took place on Saturday May 26 at Coney Island Amusement Park and consisted of guest speakers, geocaching vendors, lab caches, social gathering, music, food and more. Visitors also had the option of experiencing Coney Island’s rides and waterpark.
“For our Clermont County and Greater Cincinnati communities, the visitor spending from guests during GeoWoodstock had a very positive impact on lodging, dining, shopping and many of our regional attractions,” said Jeff Blom, President of the Clermont County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“The greater Cincinnati area was an incredible destination for GeoWoodstock XVI that truly embodied the spirit of hospitality and inclusiveness that the event is known for,” said Brad Simmons, spokesperson for GeoWoodstock.
“Whether downtown viewing the art and museums, wandering through Jungle Jim’s, having a drink at Mt. Carmel or enjoying river views and shopping in New Richmond, there were smiling faces at every turn, ready to assist and make sure we had a great time,” Simmons added.
Guests were entertained with social events throughout the week including street parties and evening mixers. Over 500 visitors made their way into New Richmond Wednesday evening for a street party overlooking the Ohio River, which consisted of food trucks, live music, kid’s activities and more. In addition, Mt. Carmel Brewing Company hosted an evening mixer Thursday evening, which welcomed over 700 visitors. This event highlighted local Clermont County beer and showcased the brewery’s newest expansion.
“The New Richmond Street Party and the Mt. Carmel Brewery Evening Mixer were both huge successes,” said Jim Comodeca, chairman of the Clermont County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
“Businesses like the Green Kayak, Front Street Café, Mr. Grim’s Nook, Mt. Carmel Brewing Company and other local businesses in Clermont County saw such a huge impact from visitors in town for this event,” he added.
Additionally, it is custom in the geocaching community to host a Cache In- Trash Out (CITO) community wide clean up event before making their journey back home.
On Sunday May 27, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources welcomed 250 visitors to East Fork State Park for the official GeoWoodstock CITO event. Visitors walked through varies portions of the park and collected hundreds of pounds of garbage and debris.
“All of the events associated with GeoWoodstock XVI went extremely well. Our visitors, both international and domestic, enjoyed the New Richmond Street Party, Mt. Carmel Brewery, the CITO cleanup event, their main event at Coney Island and more. Most attendees were excited to attend the first giga event in the US,” said Blom. “I received many positive comments as to the beauty of our region, friendliness of our community and hospitality of all of our partner attractions and hotels,” he added.
The Visitors Bureau tracked over 9,000 visitors from all 50 states and over 30 countries including:
Germany, Australia, Netherlands, Finland and Puerto Rico.
These visitors produced thousands of hotel room nights in Clermont County and the surrounding Cincinnati communities leaving a huge economic impact to this region.
“The GeoWoodstock Organizing Committee congratulates AFK Geocaching and the Clermont County Convention and Visitors Bureau for hosting such an incredible event and showcasing your community for thousands of geocachers from around the world,” said Simmons.
GeoWoodstock XVII will make its way down south to Fort Worth, TX for their 2019 event.