2026 CVIOS ANNUAL ORCHID SHOW & SALE
“The Drama of Orchids”
The spark for our 2026 show began with ‘The Drama of Orchids’ and it grew from there. We carried the theme from the eye-catching poster, through the impressive educational display to the breathtaking display tables of our local and visiting societies and vendors.
A huge thank you goes out to Nanaimo Town Centre and staff for their support in allowing us to use their atrium area again for our show tables and a storefront for our registration and visiting AOS judges. The staff had the tables and chairs out ready for use on Thursday and then put them all away for us on Sunday.
Thank you to our vendors, Paramount Orchids, Bryan’s Greenhouse, Windowsill Orchids, Koch Greenhouses as well as both Victoria and Vancouver Orchid Societies. Your presence makes the show.
Thank you to our visiting AOS judges, Abu, Paul, Stanley, Ben, Deborah, David and our photographer, Alexey. We appreciate your time in attending and judging our show.
For a second year we had several entries in the ‘Other Orchid Related’ classes and visitors were treated to a different view of orchids. Artwork by Nanaimo Harbour City Seniors group, photos from Harbour City Photographers, and some interesting orchid related handmade cards, stamps and even lego!
Thank you to Nicole Ta for creating an amazing educational display following our ‘Drama of Orchids’ theme. It was visually impressive and provided visitors with an array of information to pique their interest in orchid drama.
Congratulations to all the category winners:
Laelia subtribe : Paramount Orchids
Vandaceous tribe: Cat Fruiter of Victoria Orchid Society
Pleurothallis subtribe: Paramount Orchids
Cypripedium tribe: Gerry Harper of CVIOS
Maxillaria tribe: Paramount Orchids
Oncidium subtribe: Windowsill Orchids, Sue Christison
Cymbidium tribe: Koch Greenhouses
Coelogyne alliance: Paramount Orchids
Stanhopea and Catasetum subtribes: Israel Olmoslav of Vancouver Orchid Society
Dendrobium subtribe: Donna McDonnell of CVIOS
Best of all others not listed: Conor Preston of Vancouver Orchid Society
Best grown on windowsill: Kendall Hardy of CVIOS
Best grown under artificial light: Valerie Melanson of CVIOS
Best mounted: Valerie Melanson of CVIOS
Best painting/drawing: Betty Godfry
Best photo: Nicole Ta of CVIOS
Best in educational/Needlework/other: Nicole Ta of CVIOS
RESERVE CHAMPION: Gerry Harper of CVIOS
SHOW CHAMPION: Donna McDonnell of CVIOS
The CVIOS display table was lovely this year; thank you to everyone who brought in their blooms so we could put forward our best dramatic effect. We received an AOS nomination for our display table, and were vote ‘People’s Choice’ by those who visited the show.
Our show would not be possible without the help of our society members – those heading specific tasks, Melanie for the poster and website, Joan for invitations, Lynne for registration, Edith for cash and treasury, Bernie for sale products and culture info, Nicole for judging and facebook, Valerie for publicity, Chandler for donation boxes and generally being available all day each day to help, Ray and Sandra for storing as well as bringing in all the staging and skirting for the show.
And last but certainly not least, thank you to all our members who stepped into the roles of set-up crew, sales persons, judges, registration, minding the membership/info table, walking the floor and chatting with visitors and answering questions, and taking everything down on Sunday afternoon.
We can look forward to meeting the many new members that signed up at the show and share our love for these dramatic blooms.
Thank you, you are all a part of our success for 2026.
PREVIOUS CVIOS ANNUAL SHOW & SALE (Archived)
