SoCal: Reef-A-Palooza 2012 October 20-21

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REEF-A-PALOOZA 2012
Orange County
Fair Grounds
Costa Mesa, CA

Saturday, October 20, 2012 10AM-6PM
Sunday, October 21, 2012 10AM- 4PM

Reef-A-Palooza provides the perfect venue for marine aquarium hobbyists to meet fellow enthusiasts, exchange information, and trade, and learn about new products. One of our main goals at Reef-A-Palooza, and within SCMAS, is to educate and enlighten the public with the latest knowledge in marine animal husbandry skills and environmental responsibility. For instance, SCMAS fully encourages the rapid advancement and allure of coral propagation as a viable alternative to wild harvest collection practices. As such, many of our booth exhibitors are local hobbyists who grow their own corals specifically to sell and trade at Reef-A-Palooza and similar events. SCMAS thoroughly encourages this type of "œgreen commerce" for both the betterment and future of our hobby, as well as the resulting benefit to the marine environment.

Southern California is one of the most prolific areas in the world for the marine hobby in terms of retail, supply, and demographics. The density of marine aquarium hobbyists living within the greater LA, San Diego and Orange County area is simply phenomenal! As such, we fully leverage this advantage by properly directing resources to proactively promote Reef-A-Palooza far in advance of the actual event. Significant effort is made to advertise the event effectively, such as posting abundant signs, distributing postcards, and providing other similar displays to various retail locations. Booth rates are extremely reasonable and affordable.

Reef-A-Palooza is focused mainly to cater to the exhibitor and hobbyist, rather than as an educational conference. As such, we tend to attract customers who come specifically for the purpose of viewing and seeing all the different exhibitor's booths and displays. Nonetheless, speakers, opportunity drawings, and other entertainment are provided to help keep people around for most of the day, even after seeing all the booths. In addition, our promotional and marketing efforts are nearly guaranteed to attract high participation and attendance rates, and hence, heavy foot-traffic throughout the building. RAP 2012 is going to be HUGE this year due to the popularity of its venue (Orange County Fair & Exposition Center, Building #18) as well as the number of sellers, exhibitors, and manufacturers involved. We have 30,000+ square feet of indoor, climate-controlled space in which to make this event a resounding success. Now into its eigth year, Reef-A-Palooza has quickly gained the reputation as an event that is NOT to be missed!

 

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Admission is only $10 at the door.

 

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Can't wait!

 

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Reef-A-Palooza Speaker Line-Up

Jake Adams – 11:30 AM Saturday
Topic: TBA
Jake Adams is a professional marine aquarist from Colorado. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marine Science and he has worked with spawning corals in Puerto Rico.
Jake is the founder of Coralidea.com, and he is the senior editor of the popular reef aquarium blog, ************.com. He has consulted on the design and installation of large reef tanks, retail stores and research tanks and when he isn’t speaking to reef clubs or writing for marine aquarium publications, Jake also likes to work with new-school freshwater planted aquaria.

Reef Buddy – 1:30 PM Saturday
Topic: Reefy Buddy
Reefy Buddy is the reigning, and three-time, Formula One Reefing Circuit Champion. His need for speed and kick *** limited edition corals is second only to his desire for educating the public on wonderful companies like Marine Depot, Ecoxotic, KFC, Home Depot, Reef Nutrition, Sustainable Aquatics, and Powerade. He has quickly become one of the marine aquarium hobby’s most sought after talents. Reefy specializes in high octane aquarium products, new husbandry techniques, coral fragging, aquarium design, and ****ing excellence. He enjoys meeting hobbyists from all around the world, even France, and is always excited to share his high energy passion for reef keeping. A final note- Reefy would like to thank all the fans for their continued support of Reefy Buddy Reefing. The fans are truly what makes reefing possible. Without you, our sponsors, his long-time friend Cal Reactor Jr., and the blessings of our Lord the sweet infant Baby Jesus, our success in this hobby wouldn’t be possible. You can stay informed on Reefy Buddy’s developments by visiting his official fan page on Facebook at www.facebook.com/reefy.buddy.
To become a sponsor of Reefy Buddy Reefing, or to book Reefy for autograph sessions, or to arrange any of his crew members for a public appearances, please contact his publicist Katie at reefybuddy@gmail.com

Tony Vargas – 3:30 PM Saturday
Topic: TBA
Tony Vargas started his aquatic adventures at the age of seven, with Guppies in a pickle jar. Shortly thereafter, he was breeding a large host of freshwater tropical’s. In the early eighties he took a giant leap forward and assembled his very first salt water aquarium (fish only). Moving on to more challenging waters, in the mid 1980′s, he took another leap forward and experimented with marine invertebrates and corals. Moving forward in the late eighties a handful of aquarist including Tony were among the first in United States to successfully keep and maintain Acropora alive in captivity, long term. Tony began to share this experiences and knowledge with others through the many articles he wrote in a column titled “Feature Coral” for FAMA magazine. One of the Acropora articles in FAMA was acknowledge in Carden Wallace text book on Acropora titled “Staghorn Corals of the World”.
Today, Tony SCUBA dives around the world taking underwater photos and observing many of these creatures in their natural environment. With his writings he has effectively communicated his experiences and observations. Tony has traveled the States and Europe giving lectures and consultations on corals, reef fish husbandry, and complete system design.
Recently, Tony has completed work on his forthcoming book titled “The Coral Reef Aquarium”. This book focuses on the basics of reef keeping, how to properly assemble a coral reef aquarium (five great examples), and the long term care of these critters in a captive environment. Forward by Sanjay Joshi and Preface by J. Charles Delbeek.

Scott Fellman – 11:30 AM Sunday
Topic: TBA
Much of my life centers around tweaking my protein skimmer, scraping algae, cleaning up spills, or figuring out how to unglue my fingers. I’ve been keeping marine aquariums since I was 12 years old, and during that time, I have maintained all sorts of aquariums, fish bowls, plastic boxes, and just about anything that can hold water. My passions are aquascaping and marine biotope aquariums. I
love this hobby and the crazy people in it!
I’ve mentored fellow hobbyists since 2002 on Bob Fenner’s WetWebMedia.com site, and I was Co-Editor of WWM’s Conscientious Aquarist online magazine for a couple of years. I served as president the Marine Aquarium Society of Los Angeles County, in 2006. I’ve written a number of articles for Freshwater and Marine Aquarium Magazine, Ultramarine UK, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Marine Fish and Reef USA Annual, “C” Journal, and other online venues, such as Reef Addicts and Reefs.com. I write a weekly blog on the Reef Builders web site, where I blog on a variety of reef-related topics.
In addition to my writing, I have racked up the frequent-flyer miles, travelling all over the U.S. speaking at clubs and events about all sorts of reef-related stuff. I presented at MACNA XIX in Pittsburgh, IMAC 2008 in Chicago, MACNA XX in Atlanta, and MACNA XI in Atlantic City, MACNA XXII in Orlando, MACNA XXII in Des Moines, as well as IMAC West in Long Beach, and Reef-a-Palooza! This is my third time presenting at RAP and I’m thrilled as ever to be here! I’m really trying to complete a book on marine biotope aquaria and aquascaping before this century is over, and I’m sure my aquarium is due for a water change at some point!
When I’m not trying to replicate the ocean in my aquariums, I’m usually surfing in it at my local beach, dining at new restaurants (another great love), watching ice hockey, or SCUBA diving.



Ret Talbot – 1:30 PM Sunday
Topic: Sourcing Sustainability – Where Do the Fishes, Corals and Other Invertebrates in Your Aquarium Originate?
Ret Talbot is an award-winning freelance writer and photographer who frequently reports on the marine aquarium industry. Most often addressing topics at the intersection of the hobby, science and conservation, Talbot is a strong advocate for a robust and sustainable marine aquarium trade where aquarists serve a critical role on the front line of reef conservation. As a marketing consultant and editor, he has worked with many leading marine aquarium companies to promote that vision. When he isn’t writing about saltwater aquaria (or tending to one of his five tanks), Ret is often fly fishing in either salt- or freshwater and writing about conservation issues related to angling and healthy fisheries.
Trained as a writer, Ret holds degrees in writing from both Wheaton College (Massachusetts) and the University of St. Andrews (Scotland). He has travelled the world as a mountaineering and fishing guide, as well as a writer seeking out stories in some of the most remote and inaccessible regions on the face of the Earth. His aquarium-related books include The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Saltwater Aquariums (September 2009) and Coral (forthcoming). His aquarium articles can be found in print publications such as Coral Magazine, where he is a senior editor. Ret and his wife Karen, an artist known for her scientific illustrations of fishes, split their time between Laguna Beach, California and Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
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