Monthly Meeting – Page 124 – Venice Area Orchid Society

July 2004 Plant Table

Posted on 05/22/2010 by admin

Show Table July 2004

Monthly meetings include a show table of members’ plants. Six ribbons are awarded each month: four awards are selected by an alternating team of three VAOS member judges. These awards are: one for Best Species, and a First, Second and Third place award to any plant. A Speaker’s Choice award is given by the program speaker and the VAOS members vote on the plant for Members’ Choice. The following section describes each of these awards for July. To view a larger image, click on the photograph.

	First Place and Members’ Choice: Blc Williette Wong’The Best’ AM/AOS Grower: Bill and Susan Fender This hybrid of Blc Tassie Barbero x Blc Toshie Aoki was a stunning display of red and yellow with 8 inflorescences and 13 flowers. It was the overwhelming Members’ Choice, earning two-thirds of the votes cast. It has a complex family tree involving several generations and 18 species. The dominant species is C. dowiana.
	Second Place: Lc. Hausermann’s Sultan ‘Summer Spectacular’ Grower: Roy and Venny Klinger For the second year in a row, the seocnd place July winner is the same plant. Last year it was shown with six flowers on one inflorescence. This showing had two inflorescences of 10 flowers and 6 flowers. It is a hybrid of Lc. Kencolor x C. guttata.
	Third Place: Blc Greenwich ‘Elmhurst’ AM/AOS Grower: Jane Carmarota The AM/AOS award to Blc Greenwich ‘Elmhurst’ was given in Tampa Florida in May of 1976 on a plant exhibited by ‘Orchids by Hauserman’. This flowering by Jane matched the original description: ‘Two flowers on one stem; very striking apple-green lateral and dorsal sepals, lighter green petals, lip cerise with butter-yellow deep in throat; extremly heavy substance.
	Best Species: Dendrochilum filiforme Grower: Roy and Vinney Klinger This species, native to the Phillipines, was first sent sent to Europe and described by John Lindley in 1840. It makes an exceptionally attractive dsiplay, whether a young plant like the Klinger’s with 28 inflorescences, or one of the eleven CCM/AOS award winners which were shown with 36, several hundred and even more than thousand inflorescences.
	Speaker’s Commendation: Stanhopea species Grower: Kathy Lech Kathy received this plant ‘up north’ and without a species name. The grower told her, “flower it then you can identify which Stanhopea it is”. After growing it for six years she has finally flowered it, but has not yet identified the species. Taxonomists named several species of Stanhopea based on color which has led to confusion in the names of Stanhopea species. Today, the shape of the lip is key to identifying the species.

Judges: Emma Livsey, Peg Thompson, Pamela Bothe

33 plants from 21 exhibitors were shown.

VAOS Annual Orchid Show

Posted on 05/15/2010 by admin

The VAOS Annual Orchid Show and Sale is a premier event and is the largest orchid show on the west coast of Florida. It is held the first weekend of February at the Venice Community Center and draws over 4000 attendees each year. Highlights of our annual show include:

Thousands of blooming orchids presented in 11,000 s.f. of orchid displays and exhibits
Local growers offering superior plants for sale
An arts and crafts exhibit (orchid theme)
Plant arrangements, designed by members, for sale
Orchid supplies, books and t-shirts for sale

The VAOS invites other area orchid societies to exhibit at our show and local growers also set up exhibits. Blooming orchids are judged by AOS judges – there are often 25-30 accredited judges participating in this major event. Ribbon and trophy awards are given to individual plants as well as exhibits.

Show set up is on Friday and the show opens Saturday morning. A judge’s luncheon is hosted on Saturday and VAOS members operate the kitchen all weekend with food brought in by members.

Venice area businesses and organizations are invited to sponsor our show and their donations, as well as member Patron donations, help to offset our costs. Corporate sponsors have included Publix, Wachovia, Astin Gardens, the Herald Tribune and area retail stores and professionals.

All VAOS members are encouraged to participate in our biggest fund raising event of the year. Areas of participation include:

Bring in blooming plants for the VAOS exhibit
Bring in food for the kitchen, open throughout the weekend for judges, vendors and working staff members
Assist in kitchen
Show set up (Friday) and take down(Sunday)
VAOS exhibit set up and take down
Help with plant registration on Friday
Clerk for AOS judges Saturday morning (a GREAT learning experience!)
Make and sell floral arrangements
Set up and take down arts and crafts exhibit
Security – help to man entrances during the show
Admissions – collect entrance fees at the door
Membership – Staff the membership table and recruit new members
Sales – help with t-shirt and publication sales
Signage – Help to post signs and flyers prior to the show
Greeters and helpers – Welcome visitors, answer questions and provide assistance
Corporate sponsors and patrons – Help to recruit sponsors and collect patron donations prior to the show.

Planning and preparation for our annual show begins early, in March each year. Contact the Show Chair to get involved.

Monthly Meeting Info

Posted on 05/15/2010 by admin

The Venice Area Orchid Society (VAOS) is an affiliate of the American Orchid Society. It was founded in 1962 to foster and preserve orchid growing, to provide a forum for orchid exhibition, and to share the knowledge and experience of growers and hobbyists.

Our mission is:

to encourage, organize, and support educational activities among its members
to develop and extend knowledge of the cultivation and hybridization of orchids, and
to promote the conservation and protection of native species.

The VAOS is one of the largest orchid societies on the west coast of Florida with close to 300 members. Our annual show and sale held the first weekend in February, attracts more than 4000 people and is widely regarded as the most popular orchid show on Florida’s west coast. AOS accredited judge’s travel from nationwide to participate in our show, our largest fundraising event of the year.

The VAOS has an active membership and maintains a strong awareness of community responsibilities. Members participate in planning and hosting our regular monthly meetings as well as our annual show and sale. Our annual show brings visitors from surrounding areas that contribute to the local economy in numerous ways, including dining and entertaining. The VAOS Scholarship Program grants $3,000 annually to Venice High School students specializing in science.

VAOS Monthly Meetings – The VAOS meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm at the Venice Community Center, 326 South Nokomis Ave., Venice, Florida. We start with a brief business meeting and announcements of upcoming events, following by a speaker presentation, refreshments, plant table presentation and raffle. The speaker will often bring plants available for sale at the meeting. Guests are welcome to attend.

Meeting Program – Speakers are invited to present on a variety of topics ranging from orchid culture to how to prepare your plants for display. Most speakers include power point presentations or demonstrations and will bring plants to sell at our meetings. The VAOS has been fortunate to bring in some of the most authoritative experts in orchids – topics are always informative and focused on our south Florida growing conditions.

Refreshments – Following the speaker’s program, we take a refreshment break. All members are encouraged to bring in treats that may include homemade sweets, crackers and cheese, fruit or snacks for the refreshment table. Coffee and sodas are provided. The refreshment break offers a great opportunity to mingle with and get to know other members.

Plant Table – Members bring in their blooming plants to share and display on the plant table. Plants of all varieties and sizes are always evident and provide helpful insight into how others grow. A judging team comprised of three members designated at the beginning of each meeting select and award first place, second place and third place ribbons. Ribbons are also awarded for Best Species, Member’s Choice and Speaker’s Choice.

Following the refreshment break, the lights are set up and each plant is presented and described by an expert grower and the speaker. They discuss the heritage of the plant, characteristics, attributes and culture and the member-grower may offer suggestions on how they grew their plant. This part of our meeting is always extremely informative, providing culture advice and plant background information.

Raffle – Every monthly meeting ends with a plant raffle. Members and often the speaker bring in plants and plant divisions and raffle tickets are sold. This is a great way for members to share divisions of their plants or to give away plants they no longer wish to keep. This is also a great way to expand your collection. All donated plants and divisions should be healthy, pest-free and labeled with the name of the plant. Proceeds from the raffle support VAOS activities.

Library – The VAOS maintains a comprehensive collection of orchid books, publications, videos and journals available for members to borrow. The portable library is set up at the back of the room. Members may check out books for a month, returning them at the next meeting. Book and journal donations to the library are always appreciated.