A Charlotte man organized a Pokemon Go event. 1,000 showed up.

A love of Pokemon Go transformed Romare Bearden Park in uptown into a virtual hunting ground as over 1,000 people gathered Saturday night to play the app.

The event attracted longtime Pokemon fans, newcomers and even just the curious.

The app takes users’ cameras, GPS locators and clocks to create the virtual world in which the Pokemon live.

Charlotte resident Paul Manabat, who organized the event, said he had no idea the event would take off so quickly.

Manabat was happy with how the event turned out, despite worrying that the an earlier storm would keep people away.

“I think (the event) is really, really good,” he said. “It distracts us from all the tragedy.”

Players can choose from three factions; Instinct, Valor and Mystic. These factions allow for competitions between the players.

In Romare Bearden Park, “Go team Mystic” could be heard on one side of the park, followed by “booo, go Team Valor.”

People also sold Pokemon stickers, phone chargers and water.

Robert Mitchell, a Pokemon Go player from Charlotte, used his own money to buy water that he was handing out for free. He was worried about the safety of players.

“I am just here to try to keep people hydrated and have fun,” he said.

This story was originally published July 17, 2016 at 1:40 PM with the headline "A Charlotte man organized a Pokemon Go event. 1,000 showed up.."