Diana Kulaga wrote:
I've been following this thread with great interest, but I haven't chimed in
yet. Here goes.

This I can tell you all: our society is constantly looking for ways to
increase attendance, and it's not all self serving. We recognize that if the
Vendors don't do well, they won't want to return. As it stands, we have a
waiting list of Vendors who wish to participate.


Where do you have your shows? The first show I went to was an
accident. The newspaper gave the wrong date and I thought I missed it.
On the way back from shopping I saw a banner outside the Senior Center
and stopped for it. I don't think they charged admission at that time.


I have since attended shows at Botanical Gardens in Birmingham and St
Louis, in malls in Gautier, MS, Chatanooga TN, and Louisville, KY. The
botanical gardens both charged admission, but it was discounted if you
intended to just see the orchid show. The society in Huntsville, AL,
couldn't get any of the malls in the area. I don't recall if it was
because of the price or the mall's refusal because of insurance
liability. They had the first I attended at the Senior Center, then
later years in an area motel's conference rooms.

The malls had the most viewers and was probably best for the venders
just because of normal mall traffic. The botanical gardens were also
busy. The cubby hole shows, such as the motel conference rooms, really
needed a lot of advertising and support. As stated before, if I had
not seen a banner "Orchid Show Today", on a road I drove frequently, I
would have missed it altogether.

Nancy