BAYMAC Still Alive and Kicking

UPDATE: After a bit of confusion and misunderstanding, we’ve recently been told by the original founder of BAYMAC that he is very much a part of the show and a 2012 BAYMAC will likely occur. The show’s founder created the event with plans to eventually hand it over to the Bay Area Reefers organization, which was to start this year. However, board member changes within the club have stymied this transition. Fortunately, many different companies and individuals have come forward to help make this show happen.

A few days ago, we posted an article claiming that the Bay Area Marine Aquarium Conference (BAYMAC) was going to vanish as an annual event and that 2011’s show was its last. In our article, we were referencing a post that appeared on the BAYMAC Facebook page that stated the event had lost its host and that it did not have enough volunteers to keep it alive. The post also hinted that the show could be resurrected if a new host was found and some volunteers stepped up, and now we have come to find out that this has all been a misunderstanding. We received a tip from fellow blogger Joost de Vries stating that the person who originally started BAYMAC has stepped down from the event and has since handed the reigns over to the Bay Area Refers club. Joost also told us that BAYMAC 2012 will occur as usual and that it will still be hosted at Chabot College. Curious, we wandered on over to the BAYMAC Facebook Page to confirm what we were told, and to our surprise the post we based our original story on was nowhere to be found. In its place, the page admins posted a call for volunteers to help out with the 2012 BAYMAC. We’re pleased to hear the show is still going strong, and we wanted to thank Joost for the heads up.

A few details from the above article need to be fixed. Chabot College appears to no longer be a viable venue for BAYMAC 2012. The college will not be able to open up its facilities the night before the event, which makes setup almost impossible. So, a new location needs to be found. Additionally, the Bay Area Reefers aquarium club will not be hosting the event. Due to a major change in the club’s board member population, they simply cannot take on the event at this time.