Auckland Orchid Club

http://aoc.inetgardens.com

For Immediate Release

Renovations Could Jeopardise Show

After Over 20 years, the Auckland Orchid Club has been forced to move its spring show from Henderson.

AUCKLAND. The orchid show at the West Wave Recreation Centre has been a regular fixture in West Auckland, but this year, it has been forced to relocate to the Kelston Community Centre while the West Wave undergoes renovation. The Auckland Orchid Club held their first show there 24 years ago. According to the club president, Roy Neale, the move is risky because most people have come to associate the show with the West Wave and he fears that regular visitors will miss out, leading to fewer numbers through the door, jeopardising the viability of the show.

Those who turn up at the West Wave will be in for a shock. Instead of an orchid show, they will be confronted by a building site. To avert this, the club has erected billboards to advertise the change in venue. Billboards that have been reused from year to year, have had to be remade because of the shift, adding to the cost of the show.

Roy said, “The club is a non profit organisation, and we are grateful for a grant from the Waitakere City Council, but it only partly covers the cost of venue hire. Each year, the cost of running the show increases, and the only way to keep it viable is to increase visitor numbers.” This popular show has been well supported by other orchid clubs and exhibitors from the greater Auckland area. The club normally also invites exhibitors and growers from further a field, to add variety to the show, and to attract more people.

The move to Kelston has had its first casualty. A regular exhibitor from the Bay of Plenty has cancelled because the doors at Kelston are too narrow to fit their display. Fortunately, the club has managed to secure two new exhibitors, one from Hawkes Bay and another from Palmerston North.

The show provides an avenue for exhibitors to display rare and unusual plants, as well as flowers resulting from the latest orchid breeding programmes. Members of the public will have the opportunity to meet orchid growers. These enthusiasts are normally very keen to share their orchid culture skills. The public can also purchase plants directly from growers. The show opens from 1-4 pm on Friday, 24th August, and 9am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday. Bargain hunters and those looking for hard to get plants are advised to turn up early.

Next year, and there are plans afoot for a big 25th jubilee celebration show. Roy adds, “I hope that the West Wave will be ready by then."

ENDS

The Auckland Orchid Club was founded in 1983 to promote the culture, study and conservation of orchids in West Auckland. It holds annual shows to exhibit native and exotic orchids, and to provide a venue for members of the public to purchase orchids directly from growers. The first orchid show was held at what is now known as the West Wave Recreation Centre.