LMAR Admissions

[Zack]

Good morning everyone! As many of you know, Sunday we are hosting our frag swap, the Lonestar Marine Aquarist Rally (LMAR) at the San Antonio Aquarium beginning at 12:00 PM. I wanted to go over Sunday's admission procedures so that everyone is able to get into the aquarium as smoothly and as quickly as possible.

The aquarium will be opening at 10AM. When the doors open, we will have a board member at admissions with a printed spreadsheet of everyone who RSVP’d in advance along with their guests. Please present a photo ID to the board member, and you and your guests will be allowed into the aquarium. We will be giving out the RED door prize tickets as well as the Reef Nutrition baggies at this time. The door prize ticket will be given to the individual who the reservation is under. If you are one of the first 10 charter members at admissions with your charter member card, we will also give you a FREE MAAST cooler with a 10’’ decal and a few Coral RX one shots.

The swap area will be opening at 12PM. It is located just around the corner from the main admissions and we will have an LMAR sign blocking the stairs into the room. No hobbyists will be allowed until this room until 12PM and we ask that members explore the aquarium until this time. Please do not form a line at the entrance as this will prohibit others from enjoying the displays and the aquarium. The room itself has two entrances, however we will only be using the entrance that is in the “Dino Exhibit” area.

Once inside the swap area, if you are a charter member, please bring your charter member ID card to the MAAST dry goods booth and we will give you a BLUE charter member door prize ticket and allow you to place it in the corresponding bucket of your prize choice. There will be another bucket at our table for the RED door prize tickets that hobbyists can place their ticket into. Drawings will begin shortly after the start of the event, and will occur at regular intervals as the event is taking place. We will not be selling additional tickets at this event.

If you did not RSVP in advance, we will try our best to get you into the aquarium without having to pay for admission, but please be aware that you MAY be responsible for you and your guests admissions fees. RSVPS will be finalized Friday.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, we can’t wait to see everyone Sunday morning!

The 2015 MAAST Board of Directors

[Zack]

Just wanted to answer a few FAQ's I've gotten the past few days:

First, we will NOT be providing catering at this event. The aquarium has their own snack bar that is downstairs and they actually have a pretty decent selection of snacks and drinks.

Second, if you paid for a charter membership this week or during the swap, you WILL be eligible for the charter member prizes. We will have your card inside the swap area if you paid earlier in the week and if not, we will have a list with everyone who is a charter member. If you are unable to attend the swap, we will mail you your card this following week.

Third, the swap is SUNDAY! Today we will be doing the room setup and vendor setups. If you are at the aquarium today, you will not be allowed to enter the room unless you have approval from a board member to assist with setup.

Fourth, the aquarium is open to those who are at the swap. If you want to leave the swap area for a little while and hang out at the displays or bring the kiddos to the feeding tanks, feel free! The only part of the aquarium that is not included is the Iguana Bounce house but that may be purchased for a separate fee at admissions.

Lastly, if you did not RSVP, we will find out today if we are still able to get you in for free. Granted, it may be more limited (i.e. only one free admission) as we had to finalize and generate our list yesterday. I should have that answer for you guys this evening but as stated in the OP, you may have to pay for you and your guests.

Oh and just a friendly reminder, Please do not form a line at the entrance to the swap area as this will prohibit others from enjoying the displays and the aquarium.

[jodie]

I was going by myself, but I unexpectedly have a plus one. Can we both get in for free?

Thanks

[Zack]

Arighty.. Talked with aquarium management and they are unable to cover your admission if it was not on the RSVP list.

[MikeStimak]

Looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow at LMAR!

[Zack]

Ok guys & gals, the aquarium opens at 10 am and we will start getting everyone into the aquarium at this time.


If you arrive before 10, please line up in the order you arrive outside the aquarium (in a separate line from the aquarium's customers) and as soon as the doors open we will process your admissions. Please have both your photo ids and charter member cards out to expedite admissions.


At this time we will not be able to make any changes to our RSVP list.


If you are one of the first 10 charter members, we will have a Maast goodie cooler for you and you definitely want to make sure you look through all of it. We will not process new charter members until 12 so this applies to those that pay before 9:55 via PayPal or who are already charter members. We will process new charters inside the swap area and we will have your cards inside if you paid within the last few weeks and haven't gotten one.


The swap room will be opening at 12. Do not enter or attempt to enter the room before 12 unless you have our permission as we have several vendors who will be setting up that morning. Please do not lineup in front of the swap area as you will impede the vendors and the patrons of the aquarium.


At roughly 11:45 a few board members and the aquarium staff will walk the aquarium and make an announcement that it is time to head to the room. At this point we can then form a line in the dinosaur area.


We can't wait to see everyone later today! Let's show the aquarium how fun a MAAST swap can be!

[Jasonb]

Running a little behind but we're coming