West Coast Weekend is planned for April 18, 19 and 20, 2008, at the Clarion Inn, near Portland airport. This is the same location that we have used the last couple of years. (The address is 11518 NE Glenn Widing Dr, Portland, Oregon 97220). There will be a group discount code. Please watch the Northwest Killies site for more news.

http://www.aka.org/nwk

Most of the events will be on Saturday, April 19th and Sunday April 20th. There will probably be tours of fish stores on Friday afternoon. (Registration will probably start Friday evening.)

We will be doing the setup the evening of Friday April 18th. If you'd like to socialize with the NWK and don't mind a little disorder, please stop by the main meeting room help us setup the tanks.

Here are more details from Barry:

Northwest Killies (NWK), in collaboration with other west coast clubs, will be hosting WCW XVII in Portland, Oregon on April 18-20, 2008. The show will be held at the Clarion Hotel, 11518 NE Glen Widing Drive, Portland. The hotel is close to Portland's airport and is the same venue that we have used for the last few years, but has been refurbished and renamed. Room rate is $82 for a double. The number for reservations is 800-205-7892. The direct phone number of the hotel is 503-252-2222. When making reservations, please mention that you will be attending West Coast Weekend.

There will be eight classes in the show, namely: 1. South American Annuals; 2. Nothobranchius; 3. Fundulopanchax; 4. Callopanchax, Archiaphyosemion and Scriptaphyosemion; 5. Aphyosemion; 6. AOV Old World; 7. AOV New World; 8. Photography & Art. Awards will be given for first through third in each class and for Best in Show.

Speakers will be: Ruud Wildekamp (Holland), who will give two talks, one on lampeyes and one on collecting in Chad, and Bruce Turner, who will also give two talks, one on pupfish and one on his studies of Kryptoleb. marmoratus. In addition, there will be a round table discussion on the Sunday morning in which local experts will discuss their approach to keeping and breeding different groups of killies. There will be four talks on Saturday and the round table talk on Sunday.

There will be an auction on Sunday. It is not compulsory for show fish to be auctioned, although that is encouraged. The auction split is 2/3:1/3 in favor of the seller but you may elect to donate your cut towards the costs of WCW if you wish. We would appreciate the support. There will also be a silent auction, held on Saturday. Entry fee is $2 per item, the balance of the selling fee to the seller. Silent auction items not reclaimed by the seller will be placed in the Sunday auction. We expect some excellent fish to be brought to the show by our European guest and these will be placed in the Sunday auction.

This year we are striving to have the most successful WCW possible as we intend to subsidize the 2009 convention with WCW profits. Therefore, we want to appeal to affiliate clubs across the US to send entries to the show and auction. A successful WCW this year will mean a more economical convention next year. If you wish to discuss sending fish to WCW XVII, please contact Barry Cooper at bjc3@centurytel.net. Mail-ins should be sent to Brian Perkins, 1777 6th Ave. West Linn, Oregon, 97068 (Phone 503-421-4271). Mail-ins should arrive by Thursday, April 17, 2008.

Registration can be done via our web site at nwk.aka.org. Registration is $30 for a single and $35 for a family but note that there is a $5 "early bird" discount for those who register by April 12. We would like to encourage early registration of both attendees and fish that they might be bringing, as this greatly reduces the time required to process registrations at the site. Accordingly, we are also offering a $5 "discount voucher" to those who preregister six or more pairs of fish, combined, for the show and silent auction. This voucher may be redeemed at the auction on Sunday. There are forms on our web pages to preregister fish for the show and silent auction.

NWK strives to make WCW a relaxing and enjoyable "killie social". To that end we will organize a pay-as-you-go dinner on Friday evening at one of our famous local brewpubs, where NWK will pick up the tab for drinks. There will be a similar dinner, at a different local venue, organized for Saturday evening. These dinners will provide a chance to chat with our speakers. We will also organize visits to local fish stores during the weekend. The club expects to provide limo transport for these excursions so you should feel free to enjoy a couple of those famous local microbrews. This is no ordinary limo. Previously we have had a "stretch Hummer" and we're aiming for something similar this year.

For more information about the show please call or email Barry Cooper (541-367-2568; bjc3@centurytel.net) or Brian Perkins (503-421-4271; btec11@comcast.net).

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