Thanks Beth and the entire Virginia Aquarium crew for hosting such a great event in May.  A new record for attendance and a continuation of RAW’s emergence as the premiere venue for professional aquarist information exchange.  Congratulations on a job very well done.  Thanks also to everyone in attendance.  RAW continues to grow in scope primarily out of the interest and enthusiasm that each year’s attendees bring forward.  A heartfelt thank you to all the vendor sponsors that continue to support RAW.  The tremendous value of each year’s event is due to outstanding host hospitality, continued vendor support and high quality professional discussions amongst the entire assembly. 

As we look forward to RAW 2012 in Chicago at the Shedd Aquarium, here is some helpful information for your budgeting and travel scheduling purposes:

AZA TAG, CAP and other working meetings are scheduled for Monday, 9 April.  Workshop presentations will take place Tuesday through Thursday 10-12 April.  Tentatively planning for a Quarantine workshop on Friday, 13 April.

The proceedings will take place in the Swissotel Chicago, with rooms reserved at $149/night for single and double occupancy, $179 for triple and $209 for quadruple occupancy.  Getting to the hotel from either airport (Midway or O’Hare) is easy with train stops within a couple of blocks from the hotel or convenient shuttles.  If you are planning to drive, please budget for parking, which can run $50/day.  RAW registration fee is set at $75, and please don’t wait until the last minute as it creates all sorts of logistical problems for the host in planning transportation, meals, workshop materials, etc.

Mark Schick will be updating this website with all the relevant information, so check back in the near future for more RAW 2012 goodies.

Looking farther ahead, RAW 2013 travels to Atlanta, Georgia as we join the Georgia Aquarium crew in a spirited game of aquarist Olympic water polo with the giant fish.