Country's biggest orchid festivals in January
Added on 05 January 2020
The show is moving to the new venue, at 1950 Eisenhower Blvd., while War Memorial Auditorium undergoes renovations.
The show is sponsored by the nonprofit Fort Lauderdale Orchid Society and will features 35 vendors filling the third floor of the Grand Ballroom with thousands of exotic specimens from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Hardcore fans can get first crack at plants at the VIP preview, which also will include bubbly and a buffet with live entertainment.
"Moving to the new venue will give us an opportunity to attract new orchid lovers and welcome old friends from the past," says Michael Schaberl, the show's chairman.
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"There will be local, state and international growers with 10,000 blooming orchids on display and for sale. The show is sanctioned by the American Orchid Society, and our juried, full-sized floor displays are incredibly beautiful. Come see them and bring your camera."
The following weekend, the 18th annual Tamiami International Orchid Festival — the largest in the country — kicks off.
The show will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Jan. 17-19 at the Miami-Dade County Fair Expo Center, 10901 Coral Way, Miami. Tickets are $10 in advance online, $12 at the door. A Jan. 16 VIP pass is $125 and includes entry to a preshow and sale with drinks and light bites. Info: OrchidFestival.com.
The juried festival features 92 exhibitors with more than 55 orchid and rare plant vendors, growing supplies, orchid exhibits, jewelry, lectures and raffles. There also will be free classes taught by world experts. There also will be a bar serving beer, wine and cocktails.
The festival was founded in 2002 by noted breeder Martin Motes. "He's the foremost authority and breeder of vanda orchids in the world and is a second-generation Miami-Dade grower," said Bartholomew Motes, the grower's son, business partner and a festival organizer.
"This is the largest orchid event in the United States. It brings more than 90 vendors from around the world, from Brazil, Germany, Taiwan and Japan," says the younger Motes. "These are not supermarket orchids. They are interesting and exotic species that you will not find anywhere else. Everyone will be able to bring an orchid home that they can afford."
Martin Motes, 75, is an author and research associate at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Coral Gables, which houses the American Orchid Society. At his Redland nursery, which is open to the public, he produces some of the rarest vanda hybrids in the world. He also helped found the Redland International Orchid Festival, held May 15-17.
"On Saturday morning before the show, 50 dedicated flower fanatics from the Facebook group Florida Orchid Growing will tailgate in the parking lot. Alcohol is involved!" Motes says.
Orchids + love
A smaller, yet still enchanting, show will come to Boca Raton just in time for Valentine's Day.
The nonprofit Boca Raton Orchid Society's annual Valentines Orchid Show & Sale will be held Feb. 8-9 at the Safe Schools Institute, 1798 Spanish River Blvd.
Tickets are $5, cash only, but discounted $3 admissions are for sale at Green Barn Orchid Supplies, 5185 Conklin Drive, Delray Beach.
Vendors will sell hybrids and novelty orchids and exotic plants, potting supplies, jewelry and more. There also will be lectures and raffles.
Source: Sun-Sentinel
Photo Credit: Doreen Christensen, SouthFlorida.com
Source: Sun-sentinel
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