Re: Iris Shows

Barbara Mann wrote:
> 
> Celia, actually, at our Santa Fe show we find we don't need placards because
> we have about half a dozen people in the club who hang around looking like
> they really want to talk to visitors.  Even though we did it last year, and
> the year before, and the years before that.  What is it about iris that makes
> us want to share like that?  I don't know, but maybe I'd still be a shy little
> person instead of somebody who wants to tell everybody about my iris.  I (and
> several others in the clubl) even give talks on iris subjects to any group who
> will listen.  It's a great way to meet people, anyway.
> 
> Barb in Santa Fe, and another winter storm is moving through.
> 
> ----------
> From:   iris-l@rt66.com on behalf of J. Michael, Celia or Ben Storey
> Sent:   Tuesday, February 04, 1997 1:44 PM
> To:     Multiple recipients of list
> Subject:        Iris Shows
> 
> Whatever other innovations y'all apply to your flower show set-ups, I hope
> you are thinking of them as opportunities for public education and
> outreach. Please consider printed placards that explain for strangers what
> judges look for in each category that's on display. De-mystify the
> exhibits. Put general guidelines in writing, either on the wall or on each
> table. You don't have to exhaust the viewer with specifics, but a few
> well-chosen generalities will help counter the tendency "silent" shows have
> of scaring away potential participants.
> 
> Even a few excerpts from judges' remarks of praise posted under your best
> of show would be useful.
> 
> When Mom took me to my first iris show (and again at the local orchid
> show), all we could do was wander among the jars wondering what was wrong
> with the flowers that hadn't won. If I hadn't been accompanied by the Most
> Interested Woman Alive (who never lets her native shyness cripple her
> desire for knowledge), I would have slunk out of there without ever
> speaking to any of the pleasant people assigned to answer questions.
> 
> The strangers you hope will pass through your show and become interested in
> growing iris have grown up in a uniform-expectations, chainstore consumer
> culture. They're habituated to reading the setup; they don't expect to have
> to make new friends before they can understand what's being *shown* by your
> show. If your setup is mute, they'll go away thinking only Gnostics need
> apply.
> 
> Celia Storey
> storey@aristotle.net  USDA Zone 7b
> Little Rock, AR   ... where it looks like spring, feels like spring, sounds
> like spring, but it's not.Hello, 

We all have computers, Obviously, so why don't those lucky enough to 
have shows generate something on their computers to supply the needs of 
the visually oriented visitors and save it for future shows?  It should 
not take the place of knowledgeable, friendly people who will share 
information and experience with their guests.  Remember, they are your 
guests and I would not expect my guests to visit me and only read place 
cards, house rules etc.  I would expect to visit with them and make them 
feel welcome so they would want to see more of me in the future.

I guess what I want to say is you are both right.  I joined AIS because 
I read about it in a gardening magazine but I am not a member of a 
regional anymore because, mouthy and outgoing though I am, I hesitate 
jumping into cold water, that is, new groups where I do not know a soul.

Patti
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