The NECA Cichlid Solstice

Name: The NECA Cichlid Solstice
Start: 2025-06-07T09:00:00-04:00
End: 2025-06-07T18:00:00-04:00
Location: Chicopee Moose Family center

Schedule

Sat Jun 07 2025 at 09:00 am to 06:00 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Chicopee Moose Family center | Chicopee, MA

NECA is hosting a very special one day event on June 7, 2025 in Chicopee, MA. We are calling it the Cichlid Solstice Event, and it will feature 3 exceptionally interesting speakers, a Swap Meet, Vendors, a CARES event, an opportunity to learn about and participate in Craig Storms' incredible database project https://aquaristspecies.net/searchSpecies/. There will be food, beverages and social time, so plan on attending. There is no admission fee.
In addition to all the planned activities, we will be distributing many of the rare and unusual cichlids we are importing from Europe. They should arrive a day or two before the event, so if you are coming from out of the area and are ordering fish, plan on receiving your fish at the venue on Saturday, June 7.
The speakers will be Dr. Paul Loiselle, who will present a new program about the cichlids and killifish of Madagascar. Dr. Les Kaufman will provide a current perspective on Lake Victoria and the Victoria Basin. And Leonard Bove will present on his experiences keeping and breeding challenging and very interesting Central American cichlids.
Lisa Hoeber and Martin Hoeber will be coming up from Delaware to do their usual good works with donations, games and their wide ranging and high quality hard and soft goods. There will almost certainly be other vendors, but we'll announce them in the near future.
I expect that we'll have a very broad range of fish, plants and live foods included in the swap meet, so please don't assume this is a 'cichlid only' event. I know of several killie specialists who will be bringing fish to sell, as well as live bearers and bettas.
Among our regional supporters and vendors, Anthony Frank Stissi of SI Cichlids is planning on attending, and one can assume he will be bringing some special fish with him. Those of you who have interest can contact him with orders, which I'm sure he'll gladly bring with him to deliver them personally, saving you shipping and reducing the shipping stress on the fish. Wet Pets of Vernon, CT will also be attending, and they too can bring anything you order for a local delivery.
So continue to watch this Facebook Group page for updates on this great event. And PLEASE go to the Events link and let us know if you are planning on attending.