SEPOS International Orchid Show & Sale - April 12-14

[cbuchman]

Just back from the SEPOS show where I was clerking for the judging. Yesterday I was helping with my Orchid Society's exhibit.

It's a great show and a really good vendor area. A little concern over the excessive heat in the building and the lighting isn't the best, but overall SEPOS has done a terrific job.

Yes, I bought more plants than I had intended....

[SJF]

Originally Posted by cbuchman

Just back from the SEPOS show where I was clerking for the judging. Yesterday I was helping with my Orchid Society's exhibit.

It's a great show and a really good vendor area. A little concern over the excessive heat in the building and the lighting isn't the best, but overall SEPOS has done a terrific job.

Yes, I bought more plants than I had intended....

Do tell, pictures, please. I would love to see what you bought.

[Call_Me_Bob]

I'm leaving tomorrow morning, I cannot wait!!

[DelawareJim]

Originally Posted by cbuchman

Just back from the SEPOS show where I was clerking for the judging. Yesterday I was helping with my Orchid Society's exhibit.

It's a great show and a really good vendor area. A little concern over the excessive heat in the building and the lighting isn't the best, but overall SEPOS has done a terrific job.

Yes, I bought more plants than I had intended....

I clerked yesterday and I was disappointed.

First of all the weather, which can't be helped, and traffic was a nightmare! Took me almost 2 1/2 hours to make a 55 minute drive. Couldn't find the building, even with my GPS. Believe it or not, they did an awesome job advertising the event and there are banners everywhere in Philly, but the building has nothing. I drove by it so many times... If you have never been there, and don't know where it is, it's a bugger to find. There is no on-site parking at all.

The academy is an old small museum. The displays are on 3 or 4 different floors. We were up and down the stairs so many times I must have climbed the equivalent of a couple thousand feet.

Don't have many pictures. The museum exhibit areas are old school dark halls with glass enclosed rooms displaying a scene like a male, female, and cub panda in a "patch" of bamboo that must have been 6-10 plastic or silk bamboo stalks. So that said, the halls created all sorts of havoc with my camera. Most everything is under exposed or blurry because the flash failed to fire and the shutter was open so long.

The usual good vendors, but they were half-and-half on two different floors. I ended up being an unofficial guide to a fair number of people in the afternoon because I heard so many people saying "That's it? I thought there were more vendors."

I didn't get much; Phal bellina 'F3' from Ooi Leng Sun, Cym. ensifolium 'Shi Chang Hong', and Cym. ensifolium 'Fu Long' from Matthew at Ten Shin, and a couple of Neo pots from Satomi at Seed-Engei.

I'm going back on Sunday for the Fukiran Society judging, but otherwise, I won't go back.

I really wish Longwood, SEPOS, and the AOS judges would swallow their pride, make nice, and move it back there. It was open, light, airy, easy to get too, plenty of space,...

Cheers.
Jim

[SJF]

Originally Posted by DelawareJim

I clerked yesterday and I was disappointed.

First of all the weather, which can't be helped, and traffic was a nightmare! Took me almost 2 1/2 hours to make a 55 minute drive. Couldn't find the building, even with my GPS. Believe it or not, they did an awesome job advertising the event and there are banners everywhere in Philly, but the building has nothing. I drove by it so many times... If you have never been there, and don't know where it is, it's a bugger to find. There is no on-site parking at all.

The academy is an old small museum. The displays are on 3 or 4 different floors. We were up and down the stairs so many times I must have climbed the equivalent of a couple thousand feet.

Don't have many pictures. The museum exhibit areas are old school dark halls with glass enclosed rooms displaying a scene like a male, female, and cub panda in a "patch" of bamboo that must have been 6-10 plastic or silk bamboo stalks. So that said, the halls created all sorts of havoc with my camera. Most everything is under exposed or blurry because the flash failed to fire and the shutter was open so long.

The usual good vendors, but they were half-and-half on two different floors. I ended up being an unofficial guide to a fair number of people in the afternoon because I heard so many people saying "That's it? I thought there were more vendors."

I didn't get much; Phal bellina 'F3' from Ooi Leng Sun, Cym. ensifolium 'Shi Chang Hong', and Cym. ensifolium 'Fu Long' from Matthew at Ten Shin, and a couple of Neo pots from Satomi at Seed-Engei.

I'm going back on Sunday for the Fukiran Society judging, but otherwise, I won't go back.

I really wish Longwood, SEPOS, and the AOS judges would swallow their pride, make nice, and move it back there. It was open, light, airy, easy to get too, plenty of space,...

Cheers.
Jim

Hi Jim,
Thank you for sharing your experience. I am sorry that you had traffic issues and difficulty finding the museum. That is so annoying.

Sounds like you got a serious workout!

It sounds like the part I would have liked the most is the vendors. I am sad to miss it. Although I did soothe my sadness at Parkside .

Hopefully, Longwood will be considered as a location again. It is beautiful there.

Have a great day and enjoy the judging.
~SJF

[Jayfar]

On the other hand, non-drivers, such as myself, have a vested interest in keeping it in Philly. Walking distance or a short bus ride for me and I found that the only way I would ever be able to get to Longwood is by train and cab*.

Maybe SEPOS could arrange chartered busses from Philly to Longwood?

Best outcome for me would be that they learn from this year and figure out how to improve it for next year, such as by rigging up additional temporary lighting.

EDIT:

* I just looked at some travel options using directions from google maps. If I wanted to be a Longwood Gardens at 10am Sunday by public transit for instance, I'd need to depart Saturday afternoon. The only reasonable option for me would be to go on Friday and book a hotel room for the whole weekend. Longwood Gardens is a fairly short drive from Philly, but for other modes of transportation it's pretty much of a "you can't get there from here" situation.

[cbuchman]

I had no problem navigating to the museum via GPS. I had heard about traffic issue with the Schulkill (Spelling?) expresswaybeing closed for a while and on Thursday 1-95 was closed for a fire chief's funeral.

I also had issues with the layout on 3 floors - Agreed - not the best. The building is VERY hot - I expect to get some unhappy plants back on Sunday. The judging was not well organized, either. Our team organized themselves to be as efficient as possible with the stairs.

The load-out will be a nightmare with limited elevator (there is one 1) availability.

On the plus side, lot of orchids and displays and good vendors.

This is a photo of our exhibit which I helped to put together. We had about 65 plants and as you can see some were massive and some were tiny.

[Ray]

This is total hearsay, but my understanding is that Longwood was getting a bit greedy. One example I was given was that someone went to Dunkin Donuts for snacks and coffee for the vendors, and was told they couldn't bring them in, but could purchase Longwood's catering of those items for $1200.

[SJF]

Originally Posted by cbuchman

I had no problem navigating to the museum via GPS. I had heard about traffic issue with the Schulkill (Spelling?) expresswaybeing closed for a while and on Thursday 1-95 was closed for a fire chief's funeral.

I also had issues with the layout on 3 floors - Agreed - not the best. The building is VERY hot - I expect to get some unhappy plants back on Sunday. The judging was not well organized, either. Our team organized themselves to be as efficient as possible with the stairs.

The load-out will be a nightmare with limited elevator (there is one 1) availability.

On the plus side, lot of orchids and displays and good vendors.

This is a photo of our exhibit which I helped to put together. We had about 65 plants and as you can see some were massive and some were tiny.
Attachment 80329

Beautiful display!

[cbuchman]

Originally Posted by SJF

Do tell, pictures, please. I would love to see what you bought.

I scouted the vendor section on both floors before buying anything. Some of the vendors were having trouble taking credit cards, so i purchased with cash, which helped me not to spend too much! As always, I asked about cultural conditions to ensure that I could meet their basic requirements.

Here are the new additions clockwise from lower left. All are in bud or bloom.

Phal. Ho's Lovely Amethyst - I just loved the color. So this was am impulse purchase.

Lycaste Abou First Spring- always wanted one and I've had some success with Lycaste . I know it is the end of the blooming seasons, but it was reasonably priced and healthy and I avoided shipping charges.

Encyclia bractescens - Saw a big one at the show and liked it.

Maxillaria sophronitis - Orchid Wiz has this as Ornithidium [Otm.] sophronitis. So it must have been reclassified

Leptotes [Lpt.] bicolor - will need some advice as it is in packed Spag which doesn't seem like a good idea.