Last weekend, Pokémon GO Fest drew out around 50o,000 people from New York City, New Jersey and beyond.
From June 6-8, Pokémon GO Fest set up shop at Liberty State Park in Jersey City with exclusive gameplay opportunities, meet and greets, community celebrations, and the inaugural appearance of Volcanion.
“Pokémon GO Fest is our annual in-person celebration of the Pokémon GO community, the excitement of new Pokémon being discovered, and just creating this magical moment where folks can connect with each other,” said Divya Erram, Marketing and Live Events Manager for Global Pokémon Go Fest.
This is the third time that Pokémon GO Fest has come to the tri-state area, with previous years taking place at Governors Island. Liberty State Park lent some of its 1,212-acre grounds during the three-day event to activations, photo ops with Pokémon characters, carnival games and opportunities to shop and connect with other players.
“Liberty State Park, I think, is one of the most beautiful parks we’ve ever hosted an event in, but it also is incredibly accessible, not just for folks within Jersey City and the surrounding areas but also for international folks,” said Erram. “Folks from other states are able to make a really jam-packed fun vacation out of it, but yeah, we can’t beat these views, with the Statue of Liberty being right there, and the bridge to Ellis Island.”
Despite the on-and-off rainy weather, the event drew out over 500,000 players, and even hosted a wedding between Sandra Maroszek and Les Dorgo, two avid players from Canada who met while playing Pokémon GO.
“I think [Pokemon] really proved itself to be a lasting legacy just by coming to these events and seeing folks from so many different generations, walks of life, geography and other all definitions of diversity coming to play together and then connecting with each other, trading, making new friends in the game or in person, which is really cool,” said Erram.
Throughout the rest of the month, New York City players can participate in special events and in-game experiences in the five boroughs. On June 28-29, players around the globe can take part in
