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 Robbi Shew at illinoisorchidsocietyshows@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. No orchid is too small, we want them all!
To enter your orchids in the show, follow these easy steps:
Step 1. Find your exhibit’s and orchid’s entry class in the Show Schedule, and fill out the NEW Orchid Registration Form. Use display number 1 for the IOS group display.
Step 2. Email the new form to dianemulkerin@gmail.com by 6:00 pm on Thursday October 9th.
Step 3. Bring your orchid to the Chicago Botanic Garden by 3pm Friday October 10th, and retrieve it Sunday October 12th from 4pm-5pm.
If you need help contact your Show Chair, Robbi Shew, at illinoisorchidsocietyshows@gmail.com.
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. In fall, if you have more than 4 plants, we ask that you make a display of your own or with a friend. To do this, please register your display by Saturday, September 20.
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, September 26.
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.
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 24 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.
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.
Volunteer Schedule
Please allow a few minutes for your registration to appear.