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FragFest FAQ


Origami

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I'm posting this topic to answer the FragFest questions that we have fielded over the years. If you have a question of general interest that you'd like to see here, send it to an club officer and we may answer it here.

 

Q: What is FragFest?

A: Let's start with what FragFest is NOT. It's not a fragswap or necessarily a frag sale. Sponsors and members donate corals that we frag and hand out (for free) to members. Vendors may be there showing their wares. The space is limited in our selected venue so we'll do our best to accommodate but sponsors will get first shot at space available. FragFest IS also our annual summer meeting. So it'll have similar elements to our other meetings: Namely, a featured speaker and a raffle. 

 

Q: Wait. Free frags?

A: Yes. 

 

Q: Sounds great. I'll bet a lot of people come. How many people will be there?

A: This is our largest meeting of the year. The number of people varies from year to year, though.  It'll typically draw anywhere from 100-300 members.

 

Q: How many frags can I expect to get?

A: It depends on how many donations we receive and how many people are there. Typically, people can walk away with anywhere from three to a dozen free frags of various types. My first meeting happened to be a FragFest. I'll tell you, I left that meeting giddy at the number of frags I'd walked out with. 

 

Q: What kinds of corals are available?

A: Again, it varies from year to year. Mostly, a lot of SPS is given out. Some LPS and a few softies are often available, too. Sometimes zoas. It's sort of a grab-bag event. It depends on what we get from our sponsors. Also, sometimes some members will donate a colony or stuff they've trimmed off of overgrown corals in their system.

 

Q: Do I get to choose which corals I take? Can I look them over in advance?

A: You can choose whether or not you stand in line for a particular coral that's announced. But it's not a day to shop, and to pick and choose. To keep things moving smoothly, a type of coral is handed out in rapid succession to one person in line and then the  next. When it's gone, it's gone, and we move on to the next coral. Typically, thousands of coral frags are handed out in a 60-90 minute window of time. It can be a bit of a madhouse so we ask that you cooperate and listen closely to the directions of volunteers who are managing the process.

 

Q: Are the frags mounted on frag plugs?

A: LOL. No.

 

Q: I want to dump the frags right into my display tank. Are the corals quarantined beforehand?

A: No. It's up to YOU to practice safe-reefing! That is, don't assume that these free frags come from a pest-free tank. Protect yourself and dip everything! 

 

Q: Is there any stipulation or limitations of frags received? Are we allowed to trade with other members or is it an "everyone gets X" deal?

A: Normally, if there aren't enough of one frag or another to go around, we'll do something to randomly pick a part of the group that wants some. Some may get luckier at being in the right line than another.

 

Q: I've got some corals in my tank that have gotten large and need trimming. Can I donate frags to FragFest? How?

A: Yes. We encourage it, in fact. Bring them with you on the day of the meeting. Fragging them in advance is appreciated, but we can also take care of it at the meeting. There's no need to individually bag frags as we'll take care of that onsite during distribution. You may want to bag species separately, though, so they're not stinging each other.

 

Q: Will there be other frags for sale besides the allotted/designated free ones? Will other livestock be for sale?

A: Some members pre-arrange sales in threads posted in advance. Be on the lookout for those members and sponsors selling in advance. We'll typically have tables set up for some of our sponsors as well as some members. Due to space limitations, pre-coordination is required and is allocated on an as-available basis. Our sponsors get first dibs as well as some of our long-time members. Pre-coordination requirements may very from year to year, but if interested, reach out to the club president or one of the other officers and we'll try to help you. 

 

Q: It sounds like a good time. How can I help?

A: You can donate corals (see above). You can donate salt water. (We typically make a public announcement in advance, but we'll often ask for people to sign up to bring 5 gallons or more of salt water.) Because FragFest involves a lot of water, you can bring some towels we can use (and possibly lose). Additionally, Fragfest is a complicated endeavor, planning-wise. It can get hectic. As usual, we can use help setting up and cleaning. But we often enlist help for the "during" part to help with a) fragging (typically done 60-90 minutes in advance of the doors opening to the public); b) bagging; c) distribution; and, d) crowd control.

 

Q: Do I need to bring baggies to transport coral/livestock or are they provided? 

A: Frags that are given out are given to you in a ziploc bag, so you don't need to bring that. However, you're advised to bring a small cooler or some other means of holding the temperature on your frags. Don't bring a big, full-sized cooler. We don't have enough room for everybody to do that. You can always keep whatever cooler you have, though, in your car. If you do that, we don't care how big it is. 

 

Q: Will there be a raffle (like at normal meetings)?

A: As mentioned above, yes. As with our normal meetings, we'll have raffle items donated by our sponsors. Buy raffle tickets for various items on display. Put your tickets into containers for this item or that. When we draw for that item and call your name, it's yours. If it's livestock, we need you to be present for the drawing. If not, we'll do our best to get it to you later if we can figure out who you are. Otherwise, we'll move on until we get a winner.

 

Q: Can I bring a guest to FragFest?

A: No. Unless otherwise announced, FragFest is a members-only meeting. If you have a family membership, then you can bring family members. (Please don't abuse the privilege. We reserve the right to run a DNA test. JK.) We'll have applications at the door so non-members can join at the regular membership rate. However, we encourage people to join in advance so check-in runs smoothly.

 

Q: Why don't we allow guests at the meeting?

A: We've had abuses in the past where guests are there only to get frags on-the-cheap. We've seen people bring in friends to double and triple their haul of goods. This behavior penalizes supporting club members by reducing available frags, making lines longer, and making the meeting even more hectic. Face it: Getting free frags at FragFest more than pays for your year's worth of WAMAS membership (even if you don't take advantage of all the other member benefits). 

 

Q: Am I allowed to bring a camera to take pictures of all the setups and frags?If yes, is there any photography limitations?

A: You can always bring a camera, but if you're taking pictures of other members' or vendors' stuff, you should ask permission.

 
 
 

 

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  • 5 years later...

Bumping this just in case new members wonder what FragFest is. We're currently planning our first FF in over 2 years. COVID spiked the other two and we're excited to get this WAMAS tradition back underway.

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