The 2022 NoVAGO Fall Picnic & Auction was held last weekend on October 22, 2022 at Claude Moore Park in Sterling. It was a Community Celebration Event (extended due to the pandemic.) The weather was perfect for the event and a good time was had by all.

Three new Adventure Labs popped in the park during the event:

• NOVAGO PAST – History of the Organization, by TrexM8s, a tribute to those before us.
• NOVAGO NOW, by ThompsonKickers, a wonderful introduction to the organization, playable all around its geographic range.
• NOVAGO FUTURE – Geocaching in the Space Age, by MrPsyduck, a fun, kid-friendly, fictional tour of the nearby museum grounds with future geocacher, Elroy Jetson in 2062.

An easy puzzle cache, NOVAGO 2022 Fall Picnic Icebreaker, published in the park towards the end of the event. Those that completed the fun icebreaker activity got to skip the puzzle and find the cache an hour or two early – although not early enough for the most enthusiastic amongst the bunch. The icebreaker was a change of pace from the usual “find someone who…” and instead encouraged attendees to learn a little about each other with some “would you rather…” type questions.

As usual, the crowd rolled in and out during the event. Over 50 geocachers logged the event. We had some members with over 30,000 finds, while others had less than 200 finds. Three Volunteer Community Reviewers were in attendance (we love you guys!) And, we also had several people who were coming to their first event, with all the questions that come along with joining a new group and starting a new hobby. This PR officer tried her best to answer all the questions and was happy to meet some new faces.

There was lots of good food at the event. At least 24 feet of picnic table was packed with everything from fruits and veggies, to sweet and salty treats. DePhogration held on to his long standing title of Grill Master. We thank you very much, DePho! He said he is working on his own cache challenge for club events attended, “This is my 30th consecutive NoVAGO picnic without missing a single one.”

After noshing down on lunch, a few announcements were made and most dutifully gathered for a group photo. Then it was time for our wonderful deans of NoVAGO U to host a friendly, but competitive game of “beer” pong. Teams gathered for their best rendition of the classic house party game; no alcohol was involved in this version. It quickly evolved into a noisy game with so much cheering and laughter. “Went off to do one of the adventure labs while “beer” pong was in session – could hear the ‘whoas’ from a hundred yards away!” wrote NavalResearcher in his event log. Team ΠΑΦ won the game.

Our annual auction, held during the fall event, is our primary fundraiser for the year. Our members didn’t let us down in 2022. We had many generous donations and bids, bringing in almost $500. Sales of path tags and coins, as well as direct donations, made up an additional $300.

NoVAGO Spring 2022 Picnic Group Photo