|
Want something printed in the newsletter? E-mail it to nwos_news@nwos.org no later than the 25th of the month. |
December 2009
December Meeting This Month: Holiday PotluckHappy Holidays! Instead of the typical name brings what list, we are asking everyone to bring food: main dish, salad, drinks or dessert to share for our Holiday Potluck Party. The society will provide a meat tray, dinner rolls, plates, utensils and some cider. We will also have two trophies to award, the Schoenfeld Trophy as well as the Rebecca Northen Miniature Orchid Trophy. Everyone is encouraged to participate in winning one or both of these trophies; all you have to do is bring in a blooming plant for each. The Schoenfeld Trophy is awarded to the best blooming plant of any size. The Rebecca Northen Miniature Orchid Trophy is awarded to the best blooming plant that is 6 inches or less in height, including the bloom spike. Everyone at the Holiday Party will cast a vote for each trophy. The winner will keep the trophy until the December 2010 potluck. Display Table: Sales Table: Raffle: Fall Sale UpdateMany thanks to all who worked at the society’s fall sale at Swanson’s Nursery. Due in part to donations of several collections, the society made about $2000 from the event. Thanks also to the vendors who provided a great shopping experience and offered a variety of tempting orchids: Out on a Limb, Seattleorchid.com, Olympic Orchids, and Piping Rock Orchids. And a special thanks to Swanson’s Nursery, which has provided wonderful space for our fall sale for three years at no cost to the society.. Upcoming Northwest Flower and Garden ShowIt’s that time of year againIt is time to sign-up to help the NWOS at the NW Flower and Garden Show! The Show dates are February 3rd through February 7th. Hours for the Show will be 9 AM to 8 PM daily, except Sunday ends at 6 PM. Setup will be on Saturday January 30th through Monday February 1st. We are putting in an orchid “garden” similar to last year but with the front-center opened up to allow people to get closer to the orchids. The title of our display will be “Blooming Ecstasy” and with your help, and your orchids, I am hoping we can live up to that title. In addition to our garden, we will have an information booth back in the Orchid Vendor area dispensing membership and culture sheets. Several orchid vendors will also be selling their wares at the Show this year, among them SeattleOrchid.com and Andy’s Orchids. Working a shift (about 3 hours) gets you into the Flower Show for free. Here’s a breakdown of each day and what jobs will need to be performed. For each of these volunteer shifts, no experience is necessary. Show setup begins on Saturday, January 30th with hanging our mural on the back wall, placing a brick border around our display, and placing pallets and milk crates to give height for various trees and foliage. This whole area will then be filled with sawdust to about two feet. Wear grubby clothes, bring gloves and a scoop snow shovel if you have one. Hours will be from around Noon to 6 PM. Sunday, January 31st will see us placing bamboo and foliage plants as well as continuing to fill with more sawdust to build three foot hills in the front left and front right of the display. We will top-dress the sawdust with a darker mulch and begin placing moss and tree limbs. Hours will be from Noon to around 6 PM. Monday, February 1st is the day the orchids (YOUR orchids) are placed into the garden. We need lots of blooming orchids to fill out the display. Even having some orchids that are not in bloom would help too. We need someone with readable hand-printing to help make plant name signs for each orchid placed into the Display. These signs help the public identify the orchids they are looking at. The remaining dark mulch and moss is placed today. We’ll start about Noon and end around 8 PM. If you wish to bring your orchids to the Convention Center to place them into the Display, today is the day to do that. There is “free parking” for the first hour in the Convention Center parking garage. Enter from 8th Avenue between Pike and University. Be sure to get your parking ticket validated at the Freight Elevator. Wednesday, February 3rd the Show opens at 9 AM and runs until 8 PM. Work shifts are about 3 hours each and you can trade freely between the Display and the Membership Booth. The main task at the Display is to provide security for our plants and talk “orchids” with the public. If you are shy, then just point to one of the more experienced members when asked a question you don’t know. Thursday, February 4th and Friday, February 5th will be lighter foot traffic days. Although many of the area schools run field trips to the Show on these days. Hours are from 9 AM until 8 PM. Saturday, February 6th will be heaviest foot traffic day. Hours are from 9 AM until 8 PM, and each shift will need at least 4 people, although 5 would be better in the morning and noon day shifts. More people helping at the Display and Membership Booth means more people to trade with for those much needed breaks. Sunday, February 7th is a light foot traffic day. Hours are from 9 AM until 6 PM. After 6 PM, people will be needed to help dismantle the Display, remove the orchids, organize the plants into groups by member, and help remove the bricks, pallets and other staging from the Display. Last year it took us three hours to completely dismantle the Display and exit the Convention Center. If you’re helping to tear down, bring gloves! Monday, February 8th is a tear down day. The foliage plants will be needing transport back to the Indoor Sun Shop in Fremont. The bricks will need to removed from the Display, brushed off and stacked on their pallets. And the remaining pallets and milk crates removed from the Display. All of the sawdust mulch needs to be clean of plastic and other inorganic debris. This will take about 2 hours in the morning starting around 9 AM. Well, that’s the play by play for the Flower & Garden Show. I hope you can volunteer to work a shift or three! Any questions, please flag me down at a meeting, via email, or phone. Thanks much,
SCHEDULE OF UPCOMING MEETINGS December 14, 2009 January 11, 2010 February 8, 2010 March 8, 2010 April 12, 2010 May 10, 2010 June 14, 2010 2010 AOS Calendars We still have a few calendars left from the Fall Show. These will be available at the December meeting for $12, including sales tax -- essentially at cost. The calendars always feature gorgeous photos of orchids and make great gifts. NWOS Seeks Show Committee Chairperson Qualifications/requirements are not extensive and no prior show experience needed (new members encouraged!). The club will provide a list with a timeline and tasks at hand to be delegated to committee members. As show chair, you will delegate responsibilities and coordinate the event planning. This position is just for the Spring Sale planned at Sky Nursery, April 2010. Additionally, advice will be readily available from numerous other members as needed. Being a volunteer for the NWOS is a fantastic way to show support, meet others with the same interests, and learn more about orchids. For more information regarding this position, please contact the NWOS President, Abigail Chang |
||||||||||
