The OCA Extravaganza is the worlds largest cichlid and catfish convention. It takes place every year on the weekend before Thanksgiving in Cleveland, OH. For details visit this site close to the date of the event.

OCA Extravaganza 2010

The OCA Extravaganza 2010 will take place from 19-21 November.

Confirmed speakers are: Ad Konings (two talks, one on Catfish!), Heinz Büscher, Stefan Tanner, and Charley Grimes.

OCA Extravaganza 2009

To view these photos from the OCA Extravaganza 2009 in gallery format please click here.

Download the OCA Extravaganza Show Results (PDF).

Many thanks to everybody who helped making the Extravaganza 2009 our best Extravaganza ever! Our new Swap Meet at the Extravaganza was extremely well attended, and we had a super show with almost twice the number of fish compared to 2008. Our speakers were fantastic as usual, and we auctioned over 900 bags of fish on Sunday with prices staying strong until the very end due the fantastic offerings. Don’t ask us how we did it despite the slow economy, but we will do it all again – and better – in 2010!

Please have a close look at our list of supporters and when shopping give preference to the businesses that back your OCA.

Download a Registration Form for the Extravaganza (editable MS Word document).

Download a Registration Form for the Extravaganza (PDF document).

Download the Schedule for the Extravaganza.

Download a Seller Sheet for the Extravaganza Auction.

Download a Flyer with the Extravaganza 2009 information.

Download a Press Release for the OCA Extravaganza 2009.

Speakers
Ad Konings – Predators from Malawi
Jay Stauffer – Behavior of Lake Malawi Fishes
Rusty Wessel – The Panuco Basin of Mexico
Don Conkel – Cichlid Farming in Costa Rica and Guatemala
Willem Heijns – Central America, Breeding Cichlids in the Home Aquarium
Eric Bodrock – Breeding Catfish
Charlie Grimes – Collecting Cichlids in Cuatro Ciénegas

When
20-22 November 2009

Where:
Holiday Inn Select Strongsville
Phone: 440-238-8800
15471 Royalton Road
Strongsville, Ohio 44136

The hotel is conveniently located at I-71 and Route 82 just 10 minutes south of Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

Room Rate
Special room rate for OCA Extravaganza registrants of $65.00 per night (up to four people per room).

Best book by calling the hotel directly at 1-440-238-8800 extension 283. You can also try 1-800-HOLIDAY, but if you experience issues reserving rooms or with room rates please contact the Holiday Inn Select Strongsville directly at 440-238-8800. Be sure to ask for the Ohio Cichlid Association room rate.

Registration
Please send your Extravaganza Registration Form to:

Ohio Cichlid Association
c/o Rhonda Sorensen
4179 W. 59th
Cleveland, Ohio 44144

You can pay us by check in US$. Please make checks payable to the Ohio Cichlid Association. As a special service for our international attendees, we will gladly accepted their payment at check in.

Electronic Registration
We are running with a low-tech version for electronic registration this year as an alternative to our regular registration. If you are still using a typewriter, please don’t bother with this and just put the registration form and a check in the mail. However, for the computer savvy even this basic electronic registration option might make life a little easier. If you want to register electronically, please download the usual registration form, and email it to us at OhioCichlidAssoc@aol.com. Then send us the total via Paypal at PayPal@ohiocichlid.com.

The whole process is electronic, but it is not as fancy and automated as we would have liked it to be, because our web master never got around to setting up a more automated and seamless online registration system. Hopefully we will be able to do better next year, but hey, what we have now is better than what we had last year!

Vendor Tables
Table space for vendors is available in the main convention room. The room will be open from Friday at 3 PM until midnight and Saturday from 9 AM until 4 PM (room closes for judging and awards party) then reopens after the Manufacturer Dry Goods auction and stays open until midnight. The room is open to the general public and is the best way to sell you livestock, drygoods, family members, etc. The rates for space is on a first pay first get basis. Each vendor will receive a business card add (which you must provide electronically) in the show program as well as a trophy class sponsorship for the big cichlid and catfish show.

The rates are: $150 for two six-foot skirted tables with four chairs. Additional tables are available for $50 per six foot table.

You must contact Marc DeWerth at madbigfoot@aol.com to reserve your space and make payment arrangements. He claims table space is already filling up at an alarming rate so you better make your decision now!!!

Sponsorship
The OCA is looking for interested business, clubs, individuals, etc. to sponsor the show classes for this year’s Extravaganza. The cost per class is $25 for a regular class, $75 for Memorial Trophy, Presidents trophy (most points), $100 for Reserve Best Cichlid of Show, Best Catfish of Show, and Best Cichlid of Show.

Please contact Marc at madbigfoot@aol.com to inquire about a class, etc… All classes are available on a first come first serve basis!

All show classes for the OCA Extravaganza 2009 have found sponsors. Many thanks for your support!

Greeting for the OCA Extravaganza 2009 by our Show Chairman Marc A. DeWerth

The OCA is celebrating over 20 years of promoting our beloved cichlid hobby! This is why the Ohio Cichlid Association is very proud to offer the 15th annual Ohio Cichlid Extravaganza in 2009. The official dates of this event are:

20, 21, & 22 November 2009.

The event will again take place at the Strongsville Holiday Inn Select, which is conveniently located at the I-71, Route 82 exit just minutes from the Ohio Turnpike and Cleveland Hopkins International Airport.

We appreciate all the support we have received over the last 14 years to make the Extravaganza one of the country’s premier Cichlid events. Attendees come from all over the USA as well as Canada and we have an increasing number of visitors from overseas. Expected attendance this year tops 300 people. We, the Ohio Cichlid Association, promise to make the 2009 Extravaganza weekend a fun filled affordable weekend that you and your family can enjoy.

The OCA has worked hard to bring you another fantastic line-up of world class speakers for the 2009 Extravaganza that includes Ad Konings, Jay Stauffer, Rusty Wessel, Don Conkel, Willem Heijns, charlie Grimes, and Eric Bodrock.

For details about the Cichlid and Catfish Show see our special pages about Show Classes and Show Rules.

We are offering our usual pre-registration package. For only $35.00 per person, you can get full registration to everything and an Extravaganza 2009 T-shirt. To take advantage of this great deal, you must be pre registered by no later than November 1st, 2009. If you are not interested in a T-shirt, early registration will be $25.00 per person if received by no later than November 15th, 2008. Anytime after that and at the door, it’s $28.00 per person to register. We hope to see all of you take advantage of the Convention Early Registration Package. I know I will.

The Strongsville Holiday Inn Select has once again offered us an unbelievable low room rate of $65.00 per night (up to four people per room). You can book your reservation by either calling the hotel direct at 1-440-238-8800 extension 283 or 1-800-HOLIDAY. If you experience issues reserving rooms or with room rates please contact the Holiday Inn Select Strongsville directly at 440-238-8800. Be sure to ask for the Ohio Cichlid Association room rate.

I’m hoping that this year’s Extravaganza will surpass all others in attendance, show entries, and just plain fun. With your help, we should have no problem attaining our goals. Thanks for the continued support!

Show Chairman 2009
Marc A. DeWerth
For questions feel free to email Marc.

OCA Extravaganza 2008

Many thanks to everybody who helped making the Extravaganza 2008 the biggest and best Extravaganza ever! Despite a depressed economy and snow chaos in Cleveland on Extravaganza Weekend, we had nearly 300 registrants.

For a gallery of photos from the OCA Extravaganza 2008 please click here.

Speakers at the OCA Extravaganza 2008 were:

Eric Bodrock – Cory Breeding Made Easy
Ingo Seidel – Searching for Cichlids and Catfish in Suriname
Juan Miguel Artigas Azas (courtesy of Zoo Med) – Cichlids of Mexico
Vinny Kutty – Pike Cichlids
Ingo Seidel – L-Plecos And No End?
Ad Konings – Breeding Behavior in Malawi Cichlids

All these talks have been recorded on video and are available free to OCA members from the OCA library at OCA meetings.

OCA Extravaganza 2007

Speakers at the Extravaganza 2007 were:

Brian Shrimpton – The High-Tech, Low-Maintenance Fish Room
Jim Powers – Loaches
Lee Newman
Willem Heijns – Origins of the Central American Cichlid Fauna
Anton Lamboj – Dwarf Cichlids of Western Africa
Ad Konings – African Cichlids and Stuart Grant

For a gallery of photos from the OCA Extravaganza 2007 please click here.

OCA Extravaganza 2006

Speakers at the Extravaganza 2006 were:

Don Danko: Cichlids and Cats – Something for Everyone
Ian Fuller: Identifying Corydoradinae Catfish
Ian Fuller: Breeding Corydoradinae Catfish
Juan Miguel Artigas Azas: Herichthys Sp.
Ad Konings: Hidden Treasures of Malawi
Charley Grimes: Quatro Cienegas, MX

For a gallery of photos from the OCA Extravaganza 2006 please click here.