Going to MACNA 2012?

Bblinks · #1 10-02-2012, 01:06 AM

Thanks for the awesome review! The show looked 10 times better then the one in Seattle. Seriously thinking about going next year. Very jealous...

intarsiabox · #2 10-02-2012, 02:03 AM

There were only 1400 attendees this year? I've never been but with the amount of vendors I always thought attendence would easily clear 10,000. I guess that's great for the people who do attend, no lines or trouble getting to vendor booths and presentations. Glad you had fun! Maybe they will bring it up to Vancouver one year.

Myka · #3 10-02-2012, 02:33 AM

Actually, now I think of it, I think the 1400 number was the number of people who went to the Saturday night banquet, not the total number of tickets sold. You need a really big local aquarium society in order to be able to have the manpower to host MACNA, I'm not sure Vancouver is big enough. There weren't many lines, other than lining up to get into the banquets, but the lines moved fast.

The second pic I posted that shows the vendor booths was taken early on Friday morning. There were waaaaay more people in attendance during Saturday and even more during the big main raffle on Sunday. On Sunday there were so many people that it was hard to move around.

This is really an amazing event, and I really wish that I would have given myself at least a few free days there. We heard the Dallas Aquarium is really fantastic, but we didn't have time to get there which I really regret. Plus, there are lots of sights to see in the area. Next year for Miami, I'm going to make a week trip. It is the sort of thing that could easily be a family vacation or just a couples vacation (leave the kids at home). It is a great event, and a lot of fun!

The pics of the resort in Miami for MACNA 2013 look AWESOME, plus it is earlier in the year Aug 29th to Sept 1st if I recall correctly.

mseepman · #4 10-02-2012, 03:13 PM

I have to say that MACNA 2012 was a lot of fun! Those are some great pics Mindy, none of mine really turned out. Please send me that pic of you and me with the Tanked crew!

As Myka said, LED's were the main focus of every 2nd booth. Some I'd heard of and many I had not. If nothing else, all that focus on the product will make the manufacturers we are used to hearing from work a little harder.

Like Myka, I came away with lots of goodies from the show. I actually won an AGE tank during the final raffle, but sold it on-site as I just couldn't see how to get it home. The corals I picked up all seem to be doing well too...but the bags leaked when customs must have roughed them up a bit. Thankfully they were all Zoas who can handle just being damp for a while.

This was my 2nd MACNA in a row and after seeing how amazing next year looks, I'm pretty sure I will be there too! One thing to note is that ChingChai whose tank seems to be famous all over the world will be a keynote speaker next year! Check it out. http://www.macna2013.com/