There’s a massive Pokémon Go meetup scheduled to take place on the Mall

Not everyone is thrilled about the Pokémon Go phenomenon, but on the upside, many point out, at least the  augmented reality game is getting people up, active and social. Some say it’s possible the game could make the world significantly healthier and happier.
The very real social aspect of a mobile-based game is further underscored by this massive upcoming Pokémon Go event — over 15,000 people have said they are attending or are interested in attending.
“Get your battery packs ready and charged, gonna be a long day,” the Facebook event description reads. “Bring anyone you want, eat food in DC, catch some ‘mons, have a good time.”
According to a post on the event page by an organizer, “this initially started as a private event for me and some folks, but it’s really grown into a huge beast.”
That’s one way to put it — the event, currently scheduled for Saturday, July 30 at 1:00 p.m. at the Washington Monument has 3.8K pledged attendees with another 12K “interested.” Of course attendee numbers of Facebook often don’t reflect who actually shows up, but the interest is certainly eye-catching.
Can’t attend the event this coming weekend but interested in other Pokémon Go-ings on in the area? This DMV Pokémon Go players Facebook group, which shares tips, updates and more, has over 6,600 members.