Hello Spongebob Lover,
Last year we did have a tank tour----So people that wanted to see other tanks did, This year people are preparing already for a tank tour..Mike, I will work on getting better maps. It was a blast for me to do the parade thing..lmao
Last year we had a pretty good coral auction----Hence finding colonies of coral for really good prices, one for example for me was a 4 inch colony of Humulus for $20. I do not guarantee that again, but it could. That was the result of Last years silent coral auction. People, and vendors brought items for sale or trade last year.
This year we have three vendors talking of showing up. Some really cool people last year were able to get LFS, Vendors to donate Freebies. We had $750 worth of goodies given away last year.
We are still working on details of ticket prices. I would like to get other vendors here. The cost of boothes is being looked at---again, figures into cost.
The things that effect ticket prices are ..Cost of getting experts, paying for cost of building, food for you to eat, any other preparations to make this a success. These items were listed last year, so we have bit of idea of how we need to prepare..practice makes perfect.
The ticket prices per family last year were $20. I am sure tickets will be a little more this year. Midcolumbia Saltwater donated money from their own pockets last year, then hoped it would be a success. We did get our money back, but barely. The people down here donated things from their fridges to feed people last year. So the Illinois steaks, smoked pot roast, pork chops, chicken, ribs, salmon, milk and honey corn, etc...I can not guarantee that will happen again, We had a fantastic guy named Bart here last year cooking with his Traegars. This year we are talking about hiring caterers. We want to enjoy ourselves too. If we get a place like a motel, hopefully we will be able to get you fed one nite, you can drink what you would like, hopefully we can get discounted rates for rooms so you can rest if you are tired and come back and talk with us. We want you comfortable. We want to see people getting together enjoying themself. We hope to get the best rates for people.
We did get some expert opinions from Experts in a Auditorium at Pacific Northwest Laboratories Auditorium. I have communicated with Anthony Calfo and Terry Bartelme so far. They are two fantastic people. I am hoping they both can make it with their busy lifestyle. We (Midcolumbia Saltwater) reserved the Auditorium for August 19th, 20, 21st this year, that may be three days instead of one but we want to make it easy to prepare. We can not sell anything at the Battelle auditorium, so we need a place to get together for vendors,eat, and do a coral auction.
I have heard some pretty good responses of people wanting to get together again. I am excited. I have even heard from people in California and Nevada. I hope The Idaho Reef Society, Pacific Northwest Marine Society, More people from PSAS, More people from Spokane Reef Society, and more people period, can come and visit. I hope people come enjoy themself and look forward to getting together next year in the West.
I just can not give you the exact ticket price with out doing more research. We are talking about having two ticket prices. One ticket price for individual, another for family. Again, prices are not set. I wish for tickets to be reasonable, I hope you see a coral in the Auction that you can not live with, I hope you get the best information to further your travels in this hobby, I hope you have the best time ever while sharing this hobby with a friend you met from the internet. I am asking you to keep in mind we all want to have a good time, and will do what we can to Keep people together sharing this hobby in the West. I ask you to come, laugh, chat, and learn about this hobby together.
The research of doing this to make it easier on you and others is in the works...
The above are all ideas to make this year a great success..Again, we have lots of support to make this another year of Fun!
Please be patient, I am saying this to myself...
I can not wait to do this again,
Ed
Steve Tyree, Ryan Gent, Mojo, Aquatic Dreams, Barr Aquatics, and everyone that made the trip last year, Thank you for one unforgettable time. There were lots of smiles shared.. I would love to have you here again this year in August 19th Week end in Richland,Washington.
Sincerely(there is not a face in here that decribes the excitement I hold inside for this to happen again in the West)
Ed Hahn
