The Fraser Pacific Rose Society

Bouquet of Roses from the end of the Rose Show Sale of Exhibition Roses 50 cents a stem

Tributes

In Recognition

2011 Rose Festival & Show

I can only think of one word to sum up our Rose Festival and Show this year and it is "Amazing"! Considering the early frost in November that blackened our canes and made us have to prune to the crown and the wet and very cold spring right up to the Rose Show day, it was "Amazing" to see how many roses we still were able to put in the show this year. I was suprised by the amount of hybrid teas we managed to put in while the floribundas and miniature roses were a bit sparse. We made up for it by having a record number, 54, floral art designs entered. We added three new classes: the slipper, teacup and saucer and designer's choice that were a big hit with our exhibitors who put in 29 entries along with the public. Rosemary Moskal's brochure that was given out to the public made it easier for them to vote for their favorite 'People's Choice' for floral design, fragrance and commercial vendor. We had a great response in the voting and for the first time in the three year's we have had a 'People's Choice' for floral design where the public agreed with the judges' choice for 'Best in Show', "Amazing:! Peter Howard won the most fragrant rose. He has been trying to win this class for 20 years and he lit up like a Christmas Tree when I told him he won, again "Amazing"! We had Margaret Nakahara donate her 'Best in Show' floral design and Rosemary Moskel donate her four floral art designs to be auctioned off to the highest bidder at the end of our show, which brought in$109 in total, wonderfully "Amazing"!! Brad Jalbert of Select Roses was very generous in donating our tree standard of Living Easy and Easy Going and the floribunda Tabris for our draw prizes, thankfully "Amazing"!

I want to thank all the members who contributed their time and effort as well as the Vancouver Rose Society members who came out and supported us once again to create another exciting and memorable show.

I have many members to thank and I apologize if I have missed anyone. First, to all the husbands of our members who pitched in, helped with the set-up, selling draw tickets, and the take down of the Show, I am grateful for your understanding and support of our passion.

Marion Roman did another great job in getting the Commercial Vendors signed up and running around picking up the entries as well as selling draw tickets. Their entries were well received by the public and added to the "Amazing" factor.

We had qualified judges thanks to Evelyn Raine. She was Chief Clerk, did a turn on the information desk and helped sell coffee, tea and cookies during the show. Diana Flostrand our Treasurer was Entry Clerk, sold coffee, tea and cookies during the whole show besides collecting all the cash boxes. She even had time to exhibit and won two Best of Novice rosettes! "Amazing" :)

The refreshment committee of Ruth Guimond, Kay Christie and Lucy Kitamura made sure we had our morning coffee & breakfast items, ordered and ran the buffet lunch. We had over fifty attendees for lunch.

Helmut Berner and Peter Howard, did a great job setting up our Rose Show equipment so all items were easy to find and they kept the Flora Life buckets full. The handcarts we purchased with the Coquitlam Grant money last year were a big help in taking all the boxes back and forth to the shed.

There were even more large Rose Show signs made and put up in the surrounding neighbourhood, painted by Pat and Bev Welch, which is how many of the people who attended heard about our Show. Bev also spoke to several Garden Clubs to promote the Rose Show.

A thank you to Ruth Guimond who headed up the sale of miniature roses as we were all sold out by 3pm on Sunday and to Gloria Richardson for her ever present smile and willingness to fill in any open job. Jeanne Noel for helping us pin the floral art backboards, put up and take down of the same backboards and for allowing the floral art judging students to co-judge and observe the floral art section. It gave the students a very valuable perspective on what the judges are looking for when judging floral art.

I would like to thank our very enthusiastic photographer, Mo Patz, for documenting our show. She was there from when we were staging our blooms until the end of the show. We will be using her photos on our website as well as in our newsletter for this coming year.

At the July General Meeting, we will go over the monetary results of the Rose Show with comparatives to last year, as well as present a short Power Point presentation of the Rose Show for you to enjoy.

Now is the time to sit back and enjoy your roses, which of course are now all coming into bloom. "Amazing" :) Please try to find time to attend the open gardens our members and the Vancouver Rose Society Members have graciously opened for you to view. I would be grateful if you could take pictures of your roses and open gardens to exhibit in next year's Rose Show Photography classes.

Overall, it was an "Amazing" Rose Show and again I want to thank all of our members who contributed to its success.

See you at the next meeting.

Theresa, Rose Show Chairperson

Random Quote

Won't you come in to the garden? I would like my roses to see you. — Richard Brinsley Sheridan