The Waukesha JanBoree may be the biggest winter-time event in Waukesha, but it has played an even bigger event in the matters of the heart.

One Waukesha’s couple story starts at the JanBoree, and if it wasn’t for Sue Harter, recreation supervisor for the Waukesha Parks, Recreation & Forestry Department, and the JanBoree, the couple might not have made their love connection.

Harter told Waukesha Patch the story when talking about all the great things the JanBoree has to offer. Waukesha Patch attempted to contact the couple but was unsuccessful.

The JanBoree starts tonight and continues Saturday and Sunday.

Harter said she ran into a man and his son who were riding the trolley during the JanBoree. They began chatting about the man’s interests, which included geocaching.

Lucky for the man, there was a geocaching instructor at the event, Harter said, so she sent him to talk to the woman.

So, on top of helping to run the Waukesha JanBoree for 26 years, Harter unintentionally became a matchmaker.

“Their love of geocaching brought them together,” said Harter about the marriage of the geocaching instructor. “Now they do this for us. They try to find gems in Waukesha, real treasures. That is way they make it a treasure hunt event with real geocaching. Waukesha’s treasures are architectural, it might be time honored.”

The geocaching event requires people to check in between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. Saturday at the Schuetze Recreation Center. Lessons begin at 9 a.m. Saturday.

The geocaching event and lessons are sponsored by the Waukesha Optimist Club.

Jerry Habanek, vice president of the organization, explained the Waukesha Optimist Club’s mission is to further the lives of Waukesha’s youth.

In the past, the club has participated in the JanBoree with penguin races and obstacle courses. When it came to this year, though, the group changed its focus.

“There is an underserved population, kind of the ‘tweeners’ that like techy stuff and that like scavenger hunts still,” Habanek said. “It is family-oriented too. That group of youth is one that we are targeting. As a group, we think there aren’t a lot of events out there for that group. Geocaching isn’t just for that group, but it targets that group too. It is a great match for us.”