CT Frag Farmer's Market - March 5th, 2022!!!!

[fitch4]

Here it is!!! The return of the biggest single day swap in the country- the New England Frag Farmer's Market. The plan is to host the 2022 FFM at the school again this March 5th. Pretty much all of the previous sellers are back and I have added some new ones to add to the fun. It looks to be another FFM that you do not want to miss! More info to come...

 

[jd06351]

Awesome Jon, this is some great news!!

 

[Ricekiller]

Nice! Can't wait, its been many years since I've gone.

 

[Tacticool-Reefer]

Here it is!!! The return of the biggest single day swap in the country- the New England Frag Farmer's Market. The plan is to host the 2022 FFM at the school again this March 5th. Pretty much all of the previous sellers are back and I have added some new ones to add to the fun. It looks to be another FFM that you do not want to miss! More info to come...

Excellent!
Been waiting for this event to come back!

 

[chevy4w]

I'll be there.

 

[Fiziksgeek]

Too bad my new tank wont be up in time for this!

 

[JMetaxas]

Yippee !

 

[albano]

Always a great event, count me in!

 

[Dburr1014]

Thanks jon, putting it in my calender!

 

[Mike_J]

For those of you not on Facebook, this preliminary vendor list was posted earlier this morning on the FFM FB page.

 

[JMetaxas]

Awesome !

 

[fitch4]

Mike, you beat me to it. I just realized that I hadn't posted the list here. Thanks!

 

[fitch4]

Updated Seller List (minor changes and a few additions) :

AC Corals
Agcore
Alex's Advanced Aquatics
Aquatic Creations
Aquadreams
Aussie Aquariums
Backwoods Reefs
Bellanchor Corals
Blake's Aquaden
Boston Aqua Farms
Boston Reef Society
Blue View Aquatics
Capital Corals
Champion Lighting
Chandlerrocks Aquascaping
Cheesy Corals
Coral Reef Connection
Coral Vue
Corals Unlimited
Covey's Coral Cove
Crazy Corals
CTARS
Dan Connor
Dan Rigle’s Corals
Doghouse Corals
Donovan Stout
Dr. Salomon Corals
E.O. Smith Coral Project
**** Corals
ESV
Exotic Fish and Corals
Fifth Alarm Corals
Frank Kolak
Fritz
Frost Corals
Golden Basket Corals
Greg Demos - Aquacultured Acropora
Greg's Corals
Hall High School
Hall Memorial High School
Headie Corals
Homegrown Reef
Jason Fox
Jeff Bednarek
Kevin Wong
Kimmies Cupcakes
Lenny Lee
Marine Science Magnet School
Marc Fishtank
MR Reefs
Mod Corals
MO~Idol
Motor City Corals
Natchaug Elementary School
Neptune Systems
Norwich Free Academy
NY Reef Aquatic
Ocean State Aquatics
Paul Spinnato
Pieces of the Ocean
Pop Corals
Reef Assist.com
Reef Breeders
Reef Crazy Coral Propagation Center
Reef Creations
Reef Everyday
Reef Junkies
Reef Nutrition
Reef Rax
Reef Trends
Reefs.com
RozArt Corals
Sea Gardens
School of Fish
Roaming Reefer
Rock Hard Reefs
Salty Coral Wizard
Sea Chem
Son and Sand
STCorals
SteelerMike
Tank Breakers
The Coral Farm
The Reef Shoppe
The Sound School
TJM Corals
Triggreef
Useful Idiot
Ultimate Corals
Usctom
Wet Pets
ZiBiReef
zooanthids.com

I do still have some space for "dry goods" companies if anyone is interested. That is pretty much anyone who is not selling coral/livestock. If you are interested in adding your name to the list, shoot me a PM and we can work out details. Its a great show for both big and small companies, the set-up is fee is MUCH better than at any other show...

 

[tdyrkacz]

Looking forward to this

 

[fitch4]

The FFM vendor list is FULL again this year and I still have a big waitlist of people who would love to get a spot, with more reaching out every week. I would love to have everyone set-up but it just isn’t feasible so I have been running a system where old sellers get their old spots back and then I add in new people if spots open up. As a result, there are a TON of people who want in and just have not gotten a spot to sell their crop at the FFM. To try to see if we can make a little contest of it, and get some sweet swag into the raffle (which looks to be the best FFM raffle ever already), I am going to hold the second annual “Free Vendor Space Contest.” The winner of the contest will get a guaranteed free spot at the 2023 Frag Farmer’s Market! All you have to do to enter is donate a frag into the FFM raffle. The raffle frag that receives the most tickets in its cup at the end of the day will win the contest and the person/place that donated it, gets a free space for the 2023 FFM.
Contest Rules
-Anyone is eligible: shops, hobbyists, current vendors, waitlist vendors, new vendors, etc…
-Donations can be individual frags or frag packs but must be specific corals.
-Donors must let me know, via PM, what they are donating and send along pics to include in this thread and at the raffle table. I will update and post the various frags/packages here leading up to the FFM.
-Frags donated to this contest will all go into the FFM raffle and all proceeds will go to the school program.
-Frags must be present at the FFM to be eligible. I need to have them so the winner of the raffle for that frag can get them. They can be dropped off the day of the FFM or ahead of the FFM.
-Winner space is not transferable to another person/shop.
-Winner need not be present to win.
-Winner will be announced and notified after the FFM.
Any questions, feel free to ask!

 

[fitch4]

I have had conversations with a few FFM vendors and some shared that “attendance is down at shows.” I hate to hear that, and some even told me that it “isn’t worth” coming out. I have other people who are more than happy to step into those open spots, no problem there, but “not worth it?” That one I can’t work with… I need you guys to PROVE THEM WRONG. COVID numbers are falling faster than the Bucs playoff odds for next year and I feel like the FFM is going to be the re-start for the reef hobby in our area. I want to be able to post a big smile after the FFM is over with the HUGE FFM turnout so the vendors who decided that it “wasn’t worth coming out” regret it. Here is what I decided to do…

The Prove Them Wrong Contest!​

How to play:

1. Print out the FFM poster from the “CT Frag Farmer’s Market” group page on FB and bring it to a LFS, or shop that sells salt water/reef related items.
2. Put the poster up in the shop to let people know about the FFM (front desk, door, bulletin board, etc…). Please let the place know you are posting it! If they are reluctant, negotiate, or have them reach out to me I have a way to help them out with the FFM, even if they are not selling at it.
3. Take a selfie with the poster hung up in the shop and post the pic in this thread on the FFM FB page, with the store name and location, or send me a copy of the pic and I can post it on FB for you. That gets your name entered into the contest.

For every time you find a new LFS to put the poster up in, you get one entry into a raffle for a $100 FFM Gift Certificate that can be used at ANY of the vendors at the FFM!!!
Rules:

1. Limit one poster per LFS and one entry per shop. So, only the O.P. gets the entry for that shop.
2. You get two entries if you post a pic of a receipt from the shop to prove that you bought something while you were there. Support your LFS!
3. No limit to the number of shops you can “claim” by hanging a poster and posting yourself with it.
4. “Local” is a relative thing. Let’s get the FFM poster up ALL OVER the East Coast and beyond. This is not just a New England thing.
5. Winner will be pulled from the list of posts on March 4th and the winner will be posted on the FFM group page on FB. The GC will be ready for pick up at the front gate at the FFM on March 5th.

Now, let’s go prove them all wrong and make the FFM the biggest it has ever been!

 

[fitch4]

I realized that I had not been posting the raffle updates and such here. Trying to manage the FB group for the event has become a full time job... I know there is lots of overlap between the FB group and here but I also know lots of people hate FB so I thought I would take a few minutes and give you guys an update on some of the things that are going to be in the FFM raffle this year!

Tideline 10g AIO Tank - Thanks to Aqua Dreams
Photon V2 24" LED Fixture - Thanks to Reef Breeders
Reef Nano LED Light - Thanks to Reef Breeders
PAR Mapping of your Tank - Thanks to Reef Assist-CT
MP10 - Thanks to 5th Alarm Corals
AI Prime 16HD - Thanks to Covey's Cove
A80 and A360 LED Lights - Thanks to Kessil
75gpd RO/DI system - Thanks to Bulk Reef Supply
MP10 and AI Prime 16HD - Thanks to Ecotech Marine
HO Algae Scrubber - Thanks to Santa Monica Filtration
Reef Diaper Starter Sets - Thanks to Reef Diaper
Rack/Look down box/Camera Tube - Thanks to Building an Obsession
Proflux Controller Starter Set - Thanks to GHL
Hydros Control X3 Starter Set - Thanks to Coralvue

and that is just the stuff I have announced so far. I am saving some of the more exciting stuff for the next two weeks! Hope to see all my brothers and sisters from CT, and all over, at the FFM on March 5th.

 

[fitch4]

Good morning! Most of my posts are "Yeah Ra-Ra" posts for the FFM but this one is a tiny apology for screwing something up. Someone just pointed out that I had an old version of the FFM poster up here. All of the info on it is correct but the admission cost was not. It is $10 to get in this year, not $5. Although I do not pay to use the building for the FFM, I do pay for the custodians who help out. With the FFM as big as it is, they are there ALL day, even after we leave for the night. The cost for them has gone up each year so I made the call to bump the admission to $10 this year to try to offset it. Hopefully this isn't an issue for anyone who was planning to come out. You could look at it this way, all the $ goes to the school coral program anyway so it is just a slightly bigger donation?

 

[fitch4]

High Roller Raffle Time!!!​

Sometimes you see a frag in a raffle and are like, “Wow, that’s an awesome piece!” This is the FFM, we need to up out game a little so I put together TWO elite frag packs for the 2022 FFM High Roller Raffle! A number of vendors helped out to create two AMAZING frag packs this year, which means that TWO different people will win this year. The contents of the packs are listed below. I had 2022 FFM poker chips made up again this year (more on those to come) and here is why you want one of the special ones…
The first 22 people who purchase $100 worth of raffle tickets get a Limited Edition FFM 2022 Poker Chip with a raffle number on the back. These chips give you an entry into the FFM Elite Frag Pack raffle with a chance to win one of the following elite frag packs.

High Roller Raffle Pack #1 - Stickhead’s Delight
Angry Birds Acropora - Thanks to TJM Corals (Front of Lecture Hall)
Cherry Bomb Acropora - Thanks to Greg's Corals (Room 101)
Cofefe Acropora - Thanks to Pieces of the Ocean (Room 105)
GB Mars Attacks Acropora - Thanks to Golden Basket Corals (Room 109)
Orange Passion Acropora - Thanks to Son and Sand (Room 108)
Tiger’s Blood Acropora - Thanks to Marc Fishtank (Glass Hallway)
VooDoo Majick Acropora - Thanks to Marine Science Magnet School (Front Hallway)

High Roller Raffle Pack #2 - Mixed Bag
Dizzy Spell Montipora - Thanks to Jason Fox (Room 111)
Eclectus Mushroom - Thanks to NY Reef Aquatic (Glass Hallway)
Exosphere Zoas - Thanks to Backwoods Reefs (Front Hallway)
Gold Hammer - Thanks to Crazy Corals (Room 115)
Hellfire Gold Torch - Thanks to The Coral Farm (Front Lobby)
Rainbow Gonipora - Thanks to Salty Coral Wizard (Room 109)
Rajamelon Coral (one of a kind hybrid) - Thanks to Dan Rigle’s Corals (Room 101)
Spitfire Montipora - Thanks to Ocean State Aquatics (Back Hallway)
Yellow Submarine Favia - Thanks to USC Tom (Room 116)
There will only be 22 people in this special raffle and the only way to get entered into it is to be one of the first 22 people who buy $100 worth of raffle tickets. The raffle tickets are "normal" tickets and you can put them into cups for other raffle items, this is just a “buy in” for a chance to win one of the two packs. Support the school, win amazing coral packs, WIN-WIN! These spots went FAST last time and will go fast again this time for sure… Find Brian Pagan or myself to buy your tickets and get entered. Winners will be picked as soon as all the chips are out. The winner will be announced and contacted by phone to come pick up their pack. First winner gets first choice of the two packs. Second winner gets the remaining pack.

 

[Yasmar01]

High Roller Raffle Time!!!​

Sometimes you see a frag in a raffle and are like, “Wow, that’s an awesome piece!” This is the FFM, we need to up out game a little so I put together TWO elite frag packs for the 2022 FFM High Roller Raffle! A number of vendors helped out to create two AMAZING frag packs this year, which means that TWO different people will win this year. The contents of the packs are listed below. I had 2022 FFM poker chips made up again this year (more on those to come) and here is why you want one of the special ones…
The first 22 people who purchase $100 worth of raffle tickets get a Limited Edition FFM 2022 Poker Chip with a raffle number on the back. These chips give you an entry into the FFM Elite Frag Pack raffle with a chance to win one of the following elite frag packs.

High Roller Raffle Pack #1 - Stickhead’s Delight
Angry Birds Acropora - Thanks to TJM Corals (Front of Lecture Hall)
Cherry Bomb Acropora - Thanks to Greg's Corals (Room 101)
Cofefe Acropora - Thanks to Pieces of the Ocean (Room 105)
GB Mars Attacks Acropora - Thanks to Golden Basket Corals (Room 109)
Orange Passion Acropora - Thanks to Son and Sand (Room 108)
Tiger’s Blood Acropora - Thanks to Marc Fishtank (Glass Hallway)
VooDoo Majick Acropora - Thanks to Marine Science Magnet School (Front Hallway)

High Roller Raffle Pack #2 - Mixed Bag
Dizzy Spell Montipora - Thanks to Jason Fox (Room 111)
Eclectus Mushroom - Thanks to NY Reef Aquatic (Glass Hallway)
Exosphere Zoas - Thanks to Backwoods Reefs (Front Hallway)
Gold Hammer - Thanks to Crazy Corals (Room 115)
Hellfire Gold Torch - Thanks to The Coral Farm (Front Lobby)
Rainbow Gonipora - Thanks to Salty Coral Wizard (Room 109)
Rajamelon Coral (one of a kind hybrid) - Thanks to Dan Rigle’s Corals (Room 101)
Spitfire Montipora - Thanks to Ocean State Aquatics (Back Hallway)
Yellow Submarine Favia - Thanks to USC Tom (Room 116)
There will only be 22 people in this special raffle and the only way to get entered into it is to be one of the first 22 people who buy $100 worth of raffle tickets. The raffle tickets are "normal" tickets and you can put them into cups for other raffle items, this is just a “buy in” for a chance to win one of the two packs. Support the school, win amazing coral packs, WIN-WIN! These spots went FAST last time and will go fast again this time for sure… Find Brian Pagan or myself to buy your tickets and get entered. Winners will be picked as soon as all the chips are out. The winner will be announced and contacted by phone to come pick up their pack. First winner gets first choice of the two packs. Second winner gets the

@fitch4 Can I Venmo you $100 now for my raffle tickets?