On Sun, 5 Mar 2006 18:47:27 -0500, "danny" wrote:

I guess people in south Florida may not need to have displays at each of the
gazillion shows being put on every year, but in places like Georgia and
Alabama where there are only a couple orchid shows in the state each year I
can't imagine doing them without the displays. Our society puts in displays
at a few other shows 2-6 hours away so that those societies will reciprocate
at our annual show. Florida probably has counties with more orchid
societies than we have in the entire state.
-danny

It is 8 hours from Denver to the Next society that does a show. We
are trying to push the Boulder, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs OS
into shows so we can get one closer than Omaha, Salt Lake or Santa Fe.

It is hard to participate when the next show is in the next state.

What is the purpose of the orchid society? Don't we qualify as non-profit
organizations because we educate the public?

If the xxOS show becomes just an orchid sales location we could lose our
educational status.

The society that I belong to requires vendors to put a display in the show
in order to sell plants in the tent. I know what a burden that puts on the
vendors. Vendors have not been invited back because they did not put a nice
display in our show in previous years.

At the show members of the society have guided tours of the displays
explaining orchids. When I would give a tour I'd tell them about awards,
point out easy plants to grow, tell them why orchid have fragrance, have
them smell a bulbophylum, point out the angrecum that Darwin spoke of,
explain why everything (it seems) got ribbons, etc. Done properly the
displays can teach the general public about plants and de-mystify orchids.
Then send them to sales tent to take an arm full of plants home.

There will always be the really stupid person who will take the plant home
and plant it in the ground like he saw in the display. Just when you think
you've seen the most stupid person someone will out do them! My favorite
story about stupid comes from Al....A person bought some phals (I believe)
for Valentines Day and planted them in the front garden. Of course they
froze and she brought them back to Al to complain. Being the great guy that
he is, Al replaced the plants.

Back to displays....This year I put my first display in the show. It was
scary and fun. I learned a lot and look forward to doing it again next
year.

I do hear our show chairperson has difficulty getting other societies and
members to put in large displays. I know the vendors find it a pain in the
neck trying to get set up for sales and display. There's the rush to get
everything torn down after the show and on the road. Maybe we should have
more volunteers to help the vendors during setup.

Think about this....if we didn't have the displays then anyone could order a
couple of hundred plants from Hawaii and set up a sales table and under cut
the prices of the real orchid people. I support the vendors who specialize
in orchids. I want them to sell those common phals for $50+ each. Those
phals pay the bills and keep the heat on so they can afford to offer the few
collector plants I buy. If the Al's and Brennan's of the world can't afford
to keep the heat on all winter we'd have to get everything shipped to us
from Hawaii and Florida. Nice orchid people would be out of business.

In conclusion after this long ramble, I think the displays are an important
part of the society show.

Good Growing,
Gene




"Susan Erickson" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 5 Mar 2006 18:47:27 -0500, "danny" wrote:

I guess people in south Florida may not need to have displays at each of
the
gazillion shows being put on every year, but in places like Georgia and
Alabama where there are only a couple orchid shows in the state each year
I
can't imagine doing them without the displays. Our society puts in
displays
at a few other shows 2-6 hours away so that those societies will
reciprocate
at our annual show. Florida probably has counties with more orchid
societies than we have in the entire state.
-danny

It is 8 hours from Denver to the Next society that does a show. We
are trying to push the Boulder, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs OS
into shows so we can get one closer than Omaha, Salt Lake or Santa Fe.

It is hard to participate when the next show is in the next state.

You've made some great points. I agree that it is good to support local
vendors who grow their own plants rather than flying them in from
Hawaii. This is especially true if, like me, you live in a cold-winter
area and your society has winter shows. Locally grown plants are much
more likely to thrive because they haven't endured days of shipping in
freezing temperatures. Also, some of our local vendors have a
well-deserved reputation for offering plants of excellent quality.

My two cents on displays: I LOVE shopping for plants, and the vendors'
tables are heaven, but I like displays too. One reason is that
vendors/breeders tend to sell the latest crosses or popular plants.
However, some of the seasoned society growers show wonderful old
crosses or oddball plants that I've never seen before--and don't see on
vendors' tables. At every show I've attended, I've seen some plant on a
display that I've fallen in love with--and then trotted home to
research an Internet vendor selling the plant. (The hard part is
waiting until spring to order it.)

Displays also provide a look at what a plant will really like when it's
years older than what the vendors are selling. Some orchids are like
St. Bernard puppies...

You've made some great points. I agree that it is good to support local
vendors who grow their own plants rather than flying them in from
Hawaii. This is especially true if, like me, you live in a cold-winter
area and your society has winter shows. Locally grown plants are much
more likely to thrive because they haven't endured days of shipping in
freezing temperatures. Also, some of our local vendors have a
well-deserved reputation for offering plants of excellent quality.

My two cents on displays: I LOVE shopping for plants, and the vendors'
tables are heaven, but I like displays too. One reason is that
vendors/breeders tend to sell the latest crosses or popular plants.
However, some of the seasoned society growers show wonderful old
crosses or oddball plants that I've never seen before--and don't see on
vendors' tables. At every show I've attended, I've seen some plant on a
display that I've fallen in love with--and then trotted home to
research an Internet vendor selling the plant. (The hard part is
waiting until spring to order it.)

Displays also provide a look at what a plant will really like when it's
years older than what the vendors are selling. Some orchids are like
St. Bernard puppies...

You've made some great points. I agree that it is good to support local
vendors who grow their own plants rather than flying them in from
Hawaii. This is especially true if, like me, you live in a cold-winter
area and your society has winter shows. Locally grown plants are much
more likely to thrive because they haven't endured days of shipping in
freezing temperatures. Also, some of our local vendors have a
well-deserved reputation for offering plants of excellent quality.

My two cents on displays: I LOVE shopping for plants, and the vendors'
tables are heaven, but I like displays too. One reason is that
vendors/breeders tend to sell the latest crosses or popular plants.
However, some of the seasoned society growers show wonderful old
crosses or oddball plants that I've never seen before--and don't see on
vendors' tables. At every show I've attended, I've seen some plant on a
display that I've fallen in love with--and then trotted home to
research an Internet vendor selling the plant. (The hard part is
waiting until spring to order it.)

Displays also provide a look at what a plant will really like when it's
years older than what the vendors are selling. Some orchids are like
St. Bernard puppies...

I can see both sides of this. On the one hand, I don't care for the
over-the-top displays in which the props take center stage and the orchids
become almost incidental. The vendors' cost of participation in such venues
almost guarantee that they will be selling mass produced Phals, etc.

On the other hand, Gene makes valid points. Local societies like mine (100
members, +/-) are committed to educating the public about orchids. Our show
is designed to bring in the maximum number of visitors possible, for the
sake of the vendors and to increase our membership, among other things. I
don't think that would happen here without the displays. But we don't
require or expect the mammoth contraptions that they set up down in Miami
and Lauderdale.

I don't think one can compare a show like ours with a venue such as Redland,
which is a rollicking, no holds barred and totally wonderful event. It's not
for the faint of heart, for sure! No displays there (they do judging,
however), and for the most part the people who attend are serious about
their orchids. I can't imagine going down there and coming home with a white
Phal (well, okay, I can't see myself coming home with *any more* white Phals
from anywhere). It's a place to haunt the tents, look under the top layer,
and hunt for gold.

As long as things don't get out of hand, with pagodas and Buddhas
overshadowing the orchids, I think there is plenty of room for both types of
events.

Just my NSHO.

Diana

As long as things don't get out of hand, with pagodas and Buddhas
overshadowing the orchids, I think there is plenty of room for both types of
events.


I did my last display with all Phrag. besseae (and one Phrag. besseae v.
delassandroi)... http://tinyurl.com/z8snr

An interesting attempt... Didn't sell many besseae, though (a few).
Thought it was both educational and at least an attempt at art. I'm not
very good at displays though...

Rob

--
Rob's Rules: http://littlefrogfarm.com
1) There is always room for one more orchid
2) There is always room for two more orchids
2a) See rule 1
3) When one has insufficient credit to obtain more
orchids, obtain more credit

Here's a link that will give you an idea of what Mick was talking about when
he began this thread. These were taken by a friend of mine.

http://community.webshots.com/album/548213766zVRcEA

Diana

Diana Kulaga wrote:
Here's a link that will give you an idea of what Mick was talking about when
he began this thread. These were taken by a friend of mine.

http://community.webshots.com/album/548213766zVRcEA

Diana


Yeah... well.... it still beats a day at work. ;-)

Did you go to the last 3 images? They sneak in advertisements as if they
were the person's pictures???

Steve

Diana,

Thanks for the link - those displays were uniformly boring and
uninteresting, at least to me. The Boca Raton Society Display was a sea of
green foliage with a few orchids here and there. Not good.

-Eric in SF
www.orchidphotos.org

Gene: We actually have real orchid people here in Florida (including me),
and at least some of us are nice (decide for yourself whether I'm included
in the latter G).

Exhibits have their place, I just think the negatives should also be
considered before people are programmed to think they're the be-all/end-all
when it comes to an orchid event. In particular, although I well know "you
can't idiot-proof anything because the idiots are too ingenious," I do wish
for some signage, and a note in the show program if there is one, to advise
at least those who can/will read, that the exhibits are artificial displays
and not how the orchids really grow. The 5-6 people a year who actually
DID that are not my big problem, it's the other 100+ who at least have the
sense to ask first, and then feel that they were misled (by those displays)
when they find out they can't -- and want to "kill the messenger" instead of
the ones who sent the inaccurate message to begin with.

Ultimately, it's up to the sponsoring OS to decide what kind of event it
wants to do, and then the vendors invited will either accept or decline. I
do 2-3 shows per year that require exhibits, and have taken my share of
prizes on them. But when it comes to staying in business, it's the
"festivals" without exhibits that do far more to pay my bills. In a similar
vein, if an OS has a waiting list of good growers wanting to do its show,
then it's doing fine and needn't change a thing [Pt. St. Lucie OS, where
Diana hangs out, is a good example of one of these, also Delray Beach OS].
But those OS having trouble signing up the growers they would like to have
participate in their events should be thinking about what they can do to
make their events more attractive to those growers.

The education angle can be handled in lots of ways. One OS (whose festivals
I enjoyed very much until the location was lost to a car dealer) used to
combine education with profit by running a repotting concession (priced to
cover the materials used and a little extra). The volunteer potters would
explain what they were doing while the customers (including those waiting in
line) watched and learned -- and the line was generally VERY long, even with
4-5 potters working as fast as they could! Other OS have talks and classes.
And, of course, informally, every one of your growers will be giving
"Orchids 101" umpteen x/day just in the course of working his/her sales
booth. The exhibits, as noted above, are actually "dis-education," at least
without your guided tours [which don't seem to be the norm -- at least, I
haven't seen one yet, around here].

The thought of setup/breakdown help for your vendors is appreciated, but I
have generally found that such "help" is, sorry to say, usually not helpful,
and sometimes harmful. Every grower has his/her own setup, and ways that
things have to be packed/unpacked, in order to fit without breakage ...
It's truly not a matter of just carrying a tray of plants from here to
there. What would be a _lot_ more helpful is if the OS could provide the
foliage, or at least the big stuff. That stuff can be rented and
delivered/picked back up by the source, and with the quantity needed for all
the vendors (and the neighboring OS -- which might make your show chair's
job of getting them to participate a lot easier), I expect there'd be a
substantial discount compared to what each individual grower pays. So you
could factor that cost into the show fee and the growers would still save $$
by not having to buy or rent, and transport, all that stuff. Or, some OS
have had success with buying a large lot of such foliage and then selling it
off at cost (take orders during the show, for pickup during breakdown), or
raffling it off. This would be particularly important for those OS in
remote locations, where the growers have to travel long distances to get
there, so they can't restock their sales inventory each day.

As for the folks "brokering" a couple hundred plants to sell at a show,
without actually being real growers, that definitely does happen -- even at
shows which require exhibits. It doesn't come from people "off the street."
The perpetrators are usually hobby growers, often members of the sponsoring
OS, who have nice orchids in their own and friends' collections to use for
the ex. That practice seems to be welcomed by many OS, who apparently like
the cheap prices offered, or want to accommodate their members. But if the
OS _doesn't_ want that to happen at its event, the OS could easily stop it
by requiring appropriate documentation from vendor candidates (this will
vary by state, here in Florida it would include a state nursery registration
and a sales tax certificate).

I hope you'll take this as food for thought, that's how it's meant. Kenni


"Gene Schurg" wrote in message
news:bb3Pf.4930$CT.1469@trnddc04...
What is the purpose of the orchid society? Don't we qualify as non-profit
organizations because we educate the public?

If the xxOS show becomes just an orchid sales location we could lose our
educational status.

The society that I belong to requires vendors to put a display in the show
in order to sell plants in the tent. I know what a burden that puts on
the
vendors. Vendors have not been invited back because they did not put a
nice
display in our show in previous years.

At the show members of the society have guided tours of the displays
explaining orchids. When I would give a tour I'd tell them about awards,
point out easy plants to grow, tell them why orchid have fragrance, have
them smell a bulbophylum, point out the angrecum that Darwin spoke of,
explain why everything (it seems) got ribbons, etc. Done properly the
displays can teach the general public about plants and de-mystify orchids.
Then send them to sales tent to take an arm full of plants home.

There will always be the really stupid person who will take the plant home
and plant it in the ground like he saw in the display. Just when you
think
you've seen the most stupid person someone will out do them! My favorite
story about stupid comes from Al....A person bought some phals (I believe)
for Valentines Day and planted them in the front garden. Of course they
froze and she brought them back to Al to complain. Being the great guy
that
he is, Al replaced the plants.

Back to displays....This year I put my first display in the show. It was
scary and fun. I learned a lot and look forward to doing it again next
year.

I do hear our show chairperson has difficulty getting other societies and
members to put in large displays. I know the vendors find it a pain in
the
neck trying to get set up for sales and display. There's the rush to get
everything torn down after the show and on the road. Maybe we should have
more volunteers to help the vendors during setup.

Think about this....if we didn't have the displays then anyone could order
a
couple of hundred plants from Hawaii and set up a sales table and under
cut
the prices of the real orchid people. I support the vendors who
specialize
in orchids. I want them to sell those common phals for $50+ each. Those
phals pay the bills and keep the heat on so they can afford to offer the
few
collector plants I buy. If the Al's and Brennan's of the world can't
afford
to keep the heat on all winter we'd have to get everything shipped to us
from Hawaii and Florida. Nice orchid people would be out of business.

In conclusion after this long ramble, I think the displays are an
important
part of the society show.

Good Growing,
Gene

Susan Erickson wrote in
:

On Sun, 5 Mar 2006 18:47:27 -0500, "danny" wrote:

I guess people in south Florida may not need to have displays at each
of the gazillion shows being put on every year, but in places like
Georgia and Alabama where there are only a couple orchid shows in the
state each year I can't imagine doing them without the displays. Our
society puts in displays at a few other shows 2-6 hours away so that
those societies will reciprocate at our annual show. Florida probably
has counties with more orchid societies than we have in the entire
state. -danny

It is 8 hours from Denver to the Next society that does a show. We
are trying to push the Boulder, Fort Collins and Colorado Springs OS
into shows so we can get one closer than Omaha, Salt Lake or Santa Fe.

It is hard to participate when the next show is in the next state.


Susan,

The Lincoln (Nebraska) Orchid Society tested the waters last year, and this
year will be holding an orchid show in November. Yes, it's only an hour
closer than Omaha, but every little bit helps.

Richard