Member Resources for Orchid Shows

This page has everything you need to participate, from how to enter your plants in the show, to information on selling as an IOS member and volunteer information.

This same page will be updated for every show, so bookmark it for quick access.

The Illinois Orchid Society is 100% volunteer run. This is your show, and it is the participation of our members that makes all of our events and programs fun and successful.

Your experience matters to us. For feedback, questions, or concerns, contact your Show Chair David Kirk at illinoisorchidsocietyshow@gmail.com.

Enter Your Orchids in the Show

Share your passion for orchids with the world by entering your blooming plants in the show. In the Spring we encourage you to enter your plants in the group display. For the Fall show, if you have three plants or more, we encourage you to make your own mini display or create a display with others. IOS group display for the show. No orchid is too small, we want them all!

To enter an orchid for the IOS display, follow these easy steps:

Step 1. Fill out the Exhibitor Identification Form using the number 1 for the exhibit number.

Step 2. Find your orchids’ entry class in the Show Schedule, and fill out the Plant Registration Form.

Step 3. Email both of these to dianemulkerin@gmail.com by 5:00 pm on Friday October 11th.

Step 4. Bring your orchid to the Chicago Botanic Garden by 3pm Friday March 7th, and retrieve it Sunday March 9th from 4pm-5pm.

If you need help, email illinoisorchidsocietyshows@gmail.com, or contact your Show Chair, David Kirk, in your directory.

Forms and Reference Documents for Plant Registration

Register Your Own Display

For the spring show, we encourage members to enter their plants in the IOS group display. However, if you are entering photographs, collectibles, or artwork, you can register a display of your own by Wednesday February 19.

Sell Your Orchids and Supplies at the Show

If you would like to sell orchid plants or supplies, we provide a venue at our shows.  In order to sell any items at the show, each item requires a NEW bar-coded label, which enables the IOS to track members’ sales and later send a check to you for your sold items (less the 27% retained by the IOS). All plants must be healthy and bug-free.

Download the sales label request form and forward your list to iosplantsales@gmail.com by Friday, February 21st.

Volunteer

Orchid shows are a major part of how the Illinois Orchid Society fulfills our mission to both educate the public about orchids and promote orchid cultivation.

We are a 100% volunteer organization. Everything we do is made possible through the involvement of our members.

We break the work into 3-hour shifts. Volunteers earn 5 points for every hour worked, so one shift = 15 points.

Every year in June, the society issues prizes based on points from volunteering, and entering plants for judging at meetings and shows.

During our show weekend, October 11-12-13, we need volunteers to help get everything ready on Friday, from skirting tables to moving supplies and offering help to our guest exhibitors and vendors.

The Illinois Orchid Society has an agreement with the Chicago Judging Center that they will administer ribbon judging for the competition, but that means we need 21 IOS volunteers to clerk with them in order to help things move quickly. Please consider helping with this process. It can be an interesting chance to listen to the judges talk about the plants.

For our weekend, we also have an IOS membership table. This is an important chance to talk to the public about joining, which is also a very important function of our orchid shows, and how we can keep the society going.

Bark Mixing Day

Sunday Sept. 15

10:30 am - 2:00 pm

Peri Peng
Judy
Lina Alonzo
Erica Gurlach
Toby Green

Fall Show Volunteer Schedule

Friday Oct. 11

Setup/Plant Movers
12:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Diana Ameltchenia
John Hockberger
Lilli Nishimura
Hend Herman
Joan Goodman
Cathy Bloom
Diane Mulkerin

Setup/Plant Movers
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Sally Horne-Badovinac
John C. Adams
Diana Ameltchenia
John Hockberger
Jim Ault
Fred Horn

Plant Registration
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Diane Mulkerin
Roksana Zelena

Plant Sales Setup
3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Noris D’agostino
Lilli Nishimura

Saturday Oct. 12

Clerking (need 21)
7:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

Noris D’Agostino
Monica Penny
Elena Last
Kai Last
Hend Herman
George Titterton
Jim Ault
Sherry Maloney
Cathleen Dagestani
Steve Robinson
Kevin O’Rourke
Diane Mulkerin
Loren Pollock
Anne Kotowski
William Wrate
Ellen Powell
Kristen Kristek

IOS Membership
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Jane Stastny
Steve Robnison

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Erica Gerlach
Steve Robinson

Plant Sales
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Hend Herman
R. Payeur
Jim Ault
Kevin O’Rourke
Diane Mulkerin
Julie Hall

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Diana Ameltchenia
Lilli Nishimura
Julie Hall

Repotting
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Peri Peng

Hospitality
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

A.O.S. Membership
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Monica Penny

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Sunday Oct. 13

IOS Membership
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

John C. Adams
Steve Robinson

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Sally Horne-Badovinac
Toby Green
Sherry Maloney
Cathy Bloome

Plant Sales
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Jim Ault
Joan Goodman
Julie Hall

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Jim Ault
Joan Goodman
Steve Robinson
Julie Hall

Repotting
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Dan Weiss

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Kay Perry

Hospitality
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Elena Last

A.O.S. Membership
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Teardown
4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Sally Horne-Badovinac
Deb Altman
Diana Ameltchenia
Jim Ault
Joan Goodman

Hospitality Contributions

Chips and dips, Cheese Crepes