Pokémon GO Event Luring Thousands to Boston This Weekend

Boston, MA - When Kerrin Connolly created a page for her "Boston Poké-Walk" event, she expected about 50 people would show. Her guess was off by roughly 4,750 (and counting).

Connolly, 21, said she had an "'oh god' moment" as she watched the numbers skyrocket, following the trajectory of the wildly popular Pokémon GO game.

"I'm still kind of coming to terms with the largeness of it," she told Patch.

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The original plan was "a giant guided walk on a specific route through town," she said. Facebook now lists around 4,800 as "going" and another 14,000 as "interested" in the event.

Given those numbers, Connolly has transitioned it to a more informal, all-day meetup, where people can break into smaller groups or teams and go their separate ways. The official meeting spots are now the Boston Common and City Hall Plaza. The event page has expanded to include detailed guidelines for anyone wishing to attend.

The explosion of interest in Boston is testimony to the game's viral popularity nationwide. The augmented reality app overlays its action on the surrounding terrain via mobile phone camera, and sources its hot spots using GPS tracking. Those spots can be historical markers, public buildings and other landmarks.

Connolly, a musician from Weymouth who works at a local insurance tracking company, initially created the event as an excuse to play the game in the city, where there are more hot spots than Weymouth.

When the would-be casual meetup went viral last week, Connolly was daunted to say the least.

"I've never had to be responsible for thousands of people before, so needless to say the stress just about killed me early last week when the event was at its peak of traffic," she said. "But now I'm just settling and I'm really excited to meet everyone and see the turnout."

>> Top image is a screenshot from the game taken outside City Hall Plaza in Boston