orchid shows

OSSC has participated in every one of the shows organized by the Southland Orchid Show Committee since its inception in 1948.  The Southland Committee is comprised of representatives of orchid societies from the greater Los Angeles area, and currently includes the following societies:

• Long Beach Amateurs
• Malibu Orchid Society
• Newport Harbor Orchid Society
• Orange County Cymbidium Society
• Orange County Orchid Society
• Orchid Society of Southern California
• Riverside/San Bernardino Counties Orchid Society
• San Fernando Valley Orchid Society
• San Gabriel Valley Cymbidium Society
• San Gabriel Valley Orchid Hobbyists
• South Bay Orchid Society
• South Coast Orchid Society
• Southern California Species Orchid Society
• Torrance Cymbidium Society

upcoming 2008 orchid show

The next Southland Orchid Show at the Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens will be held on October 17^th-19^th, 2008.  Show times will be the same as the Huntington's, 10:30am to 5:00pm. The theme of this year's show will be "Harvest Moon Orchid Festival" celebrating the opening of the first phase of the Chinese Gardens at the Huntington. The official poster (in Adobe PDF) format can be downloaded from here. Admission to the show is as follows:

• Adults: $15
• Seniors (age 65+): $12
• Students (age 12-18, or with student ID): $10
• Youth (age 5-11): $6
• Children under 5: Free

Admission includes access to all of Huntington Gardens, Art Galleries, and Library.  In addition to the society orchid displays, there will be orchid displays by a host of international orchid vendors sited among the rain forest and tropical collections in the Rose Hills Foundation Conservatory for Botanical Science.  These vendors will also be offering orchids for sale.  Rounding out the activities are orchid lectures and "show and tell" on Saturday and Sunday, and a Preview Party on Thursday, October 16^th. Tickets for the Preview Party must be reserved by October 10, 2008 by calling Lezlie Moore-Purcell at (818) 985-3032. The Preview Party will feature hors 'd oeuvres, no host bar, early vendor sales, and the Awards Ceremony.

2006 show results

As it has every year since its inception, OSSC again participated in the Southland Orchid Show, held the Huntington Library, Art Collection, and Botanical Gardens. This was the second year to hold this show in this venue, and many of the little problems that cropped up the first year were dealt with effectively by the Southland Orchid Show Committee. This year's theme was "All Hallowed Orchids", and our volunteers realized the theme with a mad scientist laboring in his lab to create the perfect, but truly monstrous, orchid. The show ran from Friday, October 20 through Sunday, October 22. 

OSSC’s display garnered many awards and ribbons, including the following:

• The Orchid Digest Show Trophy for Best Display, awarded by the Orchid Digest Corporation
•  The Ernest Hetherington Trophy for Best Display of Show
• The Fordyce “Red” Marsh Memorial Trophy for Best Species Orchid of Show, awarded to Alfred Hockenmaier's Pleurothallis plectinata.

Pictures showing the construction and completion of this display can be found here.

In addition to the society’s awards, there were a number of individuals’ plants in the OSSC display that won ribbons in the judging.  A listing of all 29 awarded plants follows, and the society offers its collective congratulations to all 5 of our winning plant growers!

Under the direction of OSSC Ribbon Judging Chair Alberto Ossa, the following members (and some spouses!) contributed to the creation (and eventual dismantling) of OSSC’s display:

• Alberto Ossa
• Astrid Ferency
• Benny & Esther Lahav
• Bill Henderson
• Carol Beule
• Estee Magid
• Hoa Nguyen
• Krystine Chapparo
• Linus Bittner
• Michael Scarbrock
• Rita Desilets
• Robert Keasler
• Ted Augustyn

In addition, the following members contributed plants toward our award-winning display:

• Alfred Hockenmaier
• Astrid Ferency
• Carol Beule
• Charles & Norma Johnson
• Hoa Nguyen
• Krystine Chapparo
• Linus Bittner
• Michael Scarbrock
• Ned Daniger
• Paphanatics
• Robert Keasler
• Ted Augustyn
• Tommy & Maria Yee

One last group of people needs to be recognized: the OSSC members who volunteered to help run the show by working in the "plant hotel" and information booths.  OSSC supplied almost 1/3 of all the manpower dedicated to these tasks, and their names are listed here:

• Ted Augustyn
• Linda Bailey
• Krystine Chapparo
• David Dassey
• Rita Desilets
• Astrid Ferency
• Mary Hoffman
• Hoa Nguyen
• Bobbi Palmatory
• Susan Roberts
• Jeff Shewmon
• Norma Skinner
• Maria Yee

past orchid shows

The East West Orchid Show was an annual event hosted by the East West Development Corporation at the New Otani Hotel and adjacent Weller Court in the Little Tokyo section of downtown Los Angeles.  The show was organized by the Southland Orchid Show Committee, and featured displays by seven different orchid societies from Southern California and over 30 vendors from around the world displaying and selling their orchids.

OSSC participated in the East West Orchid Show every year since its inception in 1986.  Click on the show you wish to view information on:

• 2003 East West Orchid Show
• 2002 East West Orchid Show
• 2001 East West Orchid Show

Additional information on the East West Orchid Show can be found on the website of the Southland Orchid Show Committee.

Information on other upcoming orchid shows in California can be found in the "Other Events" section of our Calendar page.