Orchid Show(s) Question

[stonedragonfarms]

Originally Posted by tucker85

We were talking about this very point at our orchid society meeting a couple days ago. At least one show stopped inviting nearby orchid societies because of lack of interest and participation. They don't want to dedicate space that doesn't wind up being used.
I know other smaller shows that just don't have enough space. They certainly don't want to turn away vendors to make room for orchid societies.

I certainly understand this point, it just seems odd to me that this seems to be the standard here (from what I gather...I've not yet pow wowed with any of the other societies...heaven forbid I should rock the boat )

I too have cited section 5.6.1.1 of the Judges Handbook, which made me ask this question: if we know of an event well in advance and we ask to be included, what is the faux pas?

Thanks for the comments all, I look forward to hearing everybody's points of view

Adam

[RosieC]

I'm in the UK, and I know you are really asking about the USA. However the shows I've been to have always had 3 or 4 societies showing as well as the vendors. However I've always picked the bigger sounding shows to visit so not sure if some of the smaller ones have less.

I can understand the space problem, especially as having vendors there is important. However for me I would be less interested in a show that didn't have a few society stands just to admire and photograph. I think having a good mix of both vendors and display stands is what is attractive to people going to the show. The really big shows I've been to also have display stands from the vendors as well as their sale stands (with the display plants being available to buy but only if you are willing to collect them after the show).

[silken]

The shows I've been to also have displays by the vendors with some of the plants available for sale after the show but not necessarily all of them. Some are specimen plants owned by the vendor themselves.

[glengary54]

Originally Posted by RosieC

I'm in the UK, and I know you are really asking about the USA. However the shows I've been to have always had 3 or 4 societies showing as well as the vendors. However I've always picked the bigger sounding shows to visit so not sure if some of the smaller ones have less.

I can understand the space problem, especially as having vendors there is important. However for me I would be less interested in a show that didn't have a few society stands just to admire and photograph. I think having a good mix of both vendors and display stands is what is attractive to people going to the show. The really big shows I've been to also have display stands from the vendors as well as their sale stands (with the display plants being available to buy but only if you are willing to collect them after the show).

Rosie - Here in Florida almost all Shows require the vendors to but in floor displays and for the most part those plants are not for sale. Most vendors grow there collections around what Shows they will be doing during the year to make sure that they will have a full compliment of flowering plants for their displays for all the Shows that they do.

I for one would be very upset if I went to a Show and all the displays contained only commercially available plants. For me going to the Shows has always been an educational experience even after 35+ years of growing orchids myself. I love the displays but don't really care if they are vendor displays or Society displays as long as they are well done.

[orchids3]

Have been the show chairman for a society at least 5 differant years. The attendance is usually around 10,000. Our society does not put in a display at our show but society members do. Member displays can range from table top to 5x 10. three or four societys exhibit at our show and we recriprocate by putting in a display at the guest society's show.
Many shows are spoiled by 'Too many vendors'. The number of vendors should be limited so that the vendors who do come make a good profit. If too many vendors then the really good ones drop out and the show becomes substandard. Vendos are selected from a rather large waiting list and pay a hefty fee for the advertising we do. We rotate vendors to some extent to get new material available each year and we also select based on the quality of display the vendor puts in. Be careful to get vendors who sell plants which will grow in your area. You dont want cold growing orchids in Florida -
and thats my two cents worth

[Cym Ladye]

My society, which is a Branch of the CSA, has no vendors, only member sales and, for the first time this year, had individual member display tables in addition to the bench show format of years past. We will add more individual display tables due to popular demand, but due to space limitations, we will always favor the members over visitors for a display. They are always welcome, however, to place individual plants on the Bench Show tables.

Re vendors: we have some of the finest Cym growers in northern California in our Branch and possibly in all of California. Several are non-commercial hobbiest hybridizers with very high quality seedlings. No "same old, same old" mericlones. We do from time to time, buy directly from commercial hybridizers for sale plants but rarely have to as a support for the blooming sale plants of our members.

CL

[orchidsamore]

I found this very interesting since as a vendor I find the displays to be very labor intensive and expensive.

I mentioned to a famous nursery owner that it was costing me $1000 to produce a display and he said with 40 years experience it actually was never that cheap. He stopped doing displays when he realized that he had $85,000 in plants segregated as not for sale to have them for displays.

In Florida the requirement for displays is being eliminated for many shows. I am in favor of table top displays or shows that require 5 outstanding plants. This actually lets the people see better quality plants rather than just filling space with color.

We heard in this thread from Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, two of the bigger shows, but the smaller shows are finding it harder to get vendors willing to pay the expense. I will be dropping out of some because of the display requirement. I am down to only two shows this year that require a full floor display.

I would be happy to see more society displays, but usually I hear that not enough members are willing to do the work. Clubs often can not find enough quality plants in Florida for January and February shows as the bad cold winters we have been having, allow very few plants to look their best at these times.

I once offered a society a $500 donation to the club for them to put up a display for me. I was turned down.

I do not think this was what you were considering in your original post, but this is another view of the issues.

I find the total cost to attend a show to sell can run to 40% of gross sales. It used to be 10% and even the best shows are costing 20-25% of sales. I have been absorbing this cost and doing less displays but most vendors are having to raise their prices to cover the costs.

[stonedragonfarms]

Originally Posted by Cym Ladye

My society, which is a Branch of the CSA, has no vendors, only member sales and, for the first time this year, had individual member display tables in addition to the bench show format of years past. We will add more individual display tables due to popular demand, but due to space limitations, we will always favor the members over visitors for a display. They are always welcome, however, to place individual plants on the Bench Show tables.

Re vendors: we have some of the finest Cym growers in northern California in our Branch and possibly in all of California. Several are non-commercial hobbiest hybridizers with very high quality seedlings. No "same old, same old" mericlones. We do from time to time, buy directly from commercial hybridizers for sale plants but rarely have to as a support for the blooming sale plants of our members.

CL

CL: I like the bench show format, I wish more society shows would use it; though I think this has something to do with my typical desire to evaluate plants within a genus alongside their peers (and also my desire to steer well away from Phalaenopsis and their ilk...I can just find the entire bench and admire whatever is on either side...) Is the format of your show consistent with other society shows in California?

[stonedragonfarms]

Originally Posted by orchidsamore

I found this very interesting since as a vendor I find the displays to be very labor intensive and expensive.

I mentioned to a famous nursery owner that it was costing me $1000 to produce a display and he said with 40 years experience it actually was never that cheap. He stopped doing displays when he realized that he had $85,000 in plants segregated as not for sale to have them for displays.

In Florida the requirement for displays is being eliminated for many shows. I am in favor of table top displays or shows that require 5 outstanding plants. This actually lets the people see better quality plants rather than just filling space with color.

We heard in this thread from Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, two of the bigger shows, but the smaller shows are finding it harder to get vendors willing to pay the expense. I will be dropping out of some because of the display requirement. I am down to only two shows this year that require a full floor display.

I would be happy to see more society displays, but usually I hear that not enough members are willing to do the work. Clubs often can not find enough quality plants in Florida for January and February shows as the bad cold winters we have been having, allow very few plants to look their best at these times.

I once offered a society a $500 donation to the club for them to put up a display for me. I was turned down.

I do not think this was what you were considering in your original post, but this is another view of the issues.

I find the total cost to attend a show to sell can run to 40% of gross sales. It used to be 10% and even the best shows are costing 20-25% of sales. I have been absorbing this cost and doing less displays but most vendors are having to raise their prices to cover the costs.

Jerry: thanks for weighing in, you make a number of great points. It was the norm in my old OS that vendors had to exhibit if they were going to vend; it seems to be status quo in the new society as well. The main difference is the fees: the old society charged a flat $100 per 8' table (with another 8' table behind it for storage, overflow, etc) & one flowering plant per table to be used as a raffle prizes. The new society charges 15-20% of gross sales...which I was told is the norm for hereabouts.

I love your point about the "separate collection" of show plants; as semi-specialized collection person, it would often throw me for a loop when a vendor would display lots of species in their display and then have nothing but hybrids, cattleyas clones, etc for sale. An inquiry would simply yield the response that those were their show plants; even more frustrating often was the fact that they did not want those "show plants" AOS or ribbon judged...

I like CL's point about Bench style shows, it saves a heck of a lot of set up and hair pulling; I'm beginning to wonder if the new OS might consider switching to that format, encouraging individuals who desire to have a display to do so within a set space...perhaps limit displays to 16'sq or less...hmm, I'll have to think on that.

Thanks again for insight from the other side of table as it were!
Adam

[ronaldhanko]

Our society does everything it can to twist arms by way of getting other societies to come to our show. I agree with what one poster has written, that with shows getting smaller and memberships dwindling, we have to do everything possible to support other societies. As to vendors, I can see the issues there, but what could possibly be the problem with having other societies participate.