What's new?

  • School donations.  HOS donated orchids to the two schools that made the best use of the free orchid show tickets that were given to local schools.  Above, Dorothea Fendentz (left) presents a Grammatophyllum orchid to Kelley Lacks, principal of Malamalama Waldorf Elementary School.  For more details, see our Community Service page.
  • August Sale at the Mall.  A group of commercial growers got together to put on an orchid sale at Prince Kuhio Plaza on Aug. 5 and 6.  HOS volunteers were there to answer people's orchid questions and promote our Society.  Above, Donna Barr, Larry Kuekes and Julie Goettsch, flanked by orchids growing on logs brought by Rick Kelley.  Photo by Dana Culleney.
  • 2016 Hilo Orchid Show and Sale.  This year's show was a great success, thanks to all the volunteers who helped make it possible.  Above, Shelby Smith with the amazing  HOS exhibit that he designed and built.  For many more pictures of the show, see "2016 Hilo Orchid Show" under Galleries. 
  • UH Hilo Students Learn About Orchids.  Students in Prof. Sakai's Floriculture and Orchid Production class toured The OrchidWorks on Feb. 17.   Above, Ken Armour shows the students Taeniophyllum pusillum, a rare leafless orchid.
  • Orchid Isle Project.  Five members of the Kona Daifukuji Orchid Club, with a hospital maintenance man, planted and mounted orchids at the Kona Community Hospital in Kealakekua near the emergency room entrance (shown) and in the hospital's Healing Garden.
  • Scholarship Winners.  Scholarship committee members Barbara Heinz, left, and Sonia Juvik, right, introduced our Spring 2016 scholarship winners Shelly Nowaki, center left, and Miguel Bravo, center right.
  • Holiday Party.  On December 13, we gathered at the Hilo Yacht Club for our annual holiday party, including a sumptuous buffet lunch and an auction of donated orchids to benefit the Society.
  • Volcano Art Center Workshop.  On October 17, 2015, HOS conducted an orchid workshop at the Volcano Art Center.  Larry Kuekes gave a talk on orchid growing basics, followed by a talk by Ben Oliveros on how to read orchid name tags.  Then Shelby Smith conducted a demonstration of mounting orchids on various materials.  Attendees were given orchids and mounting materials to try it themselves.  Attendee feedback was very positive.
  • Two Schools Win a Year of Orchids.  For the 2015 orchid show, we reached out to students and their families by distributing special free student/parent tickets at local schools.  The two schools with the highest percentage of show attendance won a free orchid a month for the school year.  The winning school was Volcano School of Arts and Sciences.  Dorothea Fendentz, who organized this outreach initiative, presented the first basket of cool-growing blooming orchids, provided by Orchid Eros, to Principal Ardith Renetria (left).  Coming in a close second was Hawaii Academy of Arts and Sciences in Pahoa.  Dorothea presented Principal Steve Hirakami with a Grammatophyllum provided by Island Sun Orchids (right).  Hirakami plans to have his students mount this and future orchids on trees on the HAAS campus.
Orchid Show Was a Hit
The 2016 Hilo Orchid Society Show and Sale, "Carnival of Orchids", was an unqualified success.  The largest orchid show in the state of Hawaii, it featured fantastic displays with tens of thousands of orchids, plus 42 vendors of orchids and crafts.  Above is the spectacular Newman's Nursery display.  See the gallery (in the Galleries menu above) for many more pictures.  Our next orchid show is scheduled for June 2-4, 2017.

Upcoming Events

September 10:
  • Hilo Orchid Society meeting
October 8:
  • Hilo Orchid Society meeting
October 15:
  • Orchid Workshop, Volcano Art Center
October 22:
  • Newcomers Group Tour
October 29:
  • Fall Nursery Tour
November 12:
  • Hilo Orchid Society meeting
December 10:
  • 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.  Holiday Lunch and Auction
             at Nani Mau Gardens.