Thousands of salties attended the Saturday night banquet (this shot only shows part of the massive room)!

Caribbean Chris and I just got back from MACNA 2015, held last Friday through Sunday in Washington, DC, at the Marriott Wardman Park, and what a weekend it was! From the venue to the speaker lineup to the banquet and everything in between, we think this year’s MACNA (Marine Aquarium Conference of North America) really delivered on every level. Kudos to all who had a hand in coordinating and presenting this massive convention and making it appear so seamless (extra special shout out to WAMAS and MASNA)! While we’ll soon be doing our usual MACNA wrap-up post with more specific details, today I’d like reach out to all the salties out there who either haven’t heard of MACNA or are aware of it but think it’s not for them.

Here are 5 reasons you might want to consider attending next year’s event, to be held in San Diego, California:

1. You can learn from and meet major hobby pioneers and experts!

Dr. Bruce Carlson, Sanjay Joshi, Kevin Kohen, Richard Ross, Walt Smith, Julian Sprung, Ret Talbot, and Dr.Charlie Veron are just a sampling of the marine aquarium industry pioneers, experts, and influencers who spoke at this year’s MACNA. Nowhere else will you have an opportunity to learn from—and possibly chat with—so many different experts under one roof.

2. You’ll fit right in!

You know that vaguely misfit-y feeling you get whenever you try to discuss fish and/or reefkeeping with your non-hobbyist friends and coworkers? (Sure, they nod their heads and pretend they’re interested, but what they’re really thinking is “Cuuuckoo!”) Well, you’re not going to experience that at MACNA… MORE