It has happened, and it is over! If you missed it, you missed quite a spectacular spectacle.
If you were there, you know :D If you were unable to make it to our show, click the "read more" link to see it all!
If you were there, you know :D If you were unable to make it to our show, click the "read more" link to see it all!
On March 21 and 22, the Modesto Camellia Club presented our annual show in the beautiful Palm Court of the epic Gallo Administration Building. We are always extremely grateful to be able to have our show in this beautiful venue. Almost 1,000 blooms were displayed during the weekend, and 40 camellia friends came from all over the state to help judge which flowers were the most outstanding.
Our thanks to all the judges who freely gave of their time to come from all over California to judge our blooms. Winners were chosen based on the quality of their bloom, as well as presentation.
We are proud to announce the local winners in the following categories:
Blooms:
Best Medium Japonica, Runner Up: Pete & Pat Warner
Best Japonica by a Modesto Member: Marvin & Barbara Bort
BEst Stem of Camellias: Maxine Lozano
Best Tray of 3, by a Modesto Member: Maxine Lozano
Best Tray of 3, by a Novice: Joe Lozano
Photography:
Camellia with Pet: Barbara Bort
Single Camellia: Cindy Cook
We started planning last September, so it took 7 months of careful and strategic planning to put this event together. Duties included: ordering 288 camellia plants to be sold at the show, booking judges, purchasing all the trophies, planning a catered "thank you" lunch for the traveling judges, securing sponsors for all the ads in the programs, set up, break down, load in, load out.... it was an exhausting 3 days, but so worth it when we saw new people experiencing the beauty of camellias for the very first time.
Above you see Marvin Bort, member for 6 years and current President of the Modesto Camellia Society, and Tony Miranda, member for at least 30 years, and last year's best bloom grand prize winner.
We were fortunate to have some of the ladies from The Redwood Family Center volunteer to help with clerking, which means they walked behind the judges and punched the results onto entry cards. They also helped carry all the best blooms over to the head judges tables for trophy selection.
Above you see 2 tables filled with "rejected blooms". Crazy, isn't it? They're all so incredibly beautiful! But these are flowers that were sent to the head judges table as possible winners, but ultimately not chosen for trophy voting.
Above left, you see a Sir Robert Muldoon bloom which won 3rd place.
How the judging works: the judges go around to every bloom on every table, and they separately judge each named flower. Meaning - they judge ALL the flowers within a certain name: like Sir Robert Muldoon, Frank Houser, Black Tie, and Pink Perfection. So within all the Sir Robert Muldoon blooms, this one was voted 3rd best. The first best was sent to the head judging table for trophy selection. Above right, you see Modesto Camellia Society member David Ellis, who is voted first place every day by his wife Shirley.
How the judging works: the judges go around to every bloom on every table, and they separately judge each named flower. Meaning - they judge ALL the flowers within a certain name: like Sir Robert Muldoon, Frank Houser, Black Tie, and Pink Perfection. So within all the Sir Robert Muldoon blooms, this one was voted 3rd best. The first best was sent to the head judging table for trophy selection. Above right, you see Modesto Camellia Society member David Ellis, who is voted first place every day by his wife Shirley.
We couldn't ask for a more beautiful setting to show off everyone's hard work! Below, you see President of the Northern California Camellia Council, Barbara Bort... who doubles as Treasurer of the Modesto Camellia Society, and Sharon Adams, who was Chairman of the Judges for this show, and also doubles as Vice President of the Northern California Camellia Council. They are putting their votes in for Best in Show! A prize that Jon and Doan Lesmeister eventually took home. (Don and Joan.... nevermind. Inside joke.)
Sidenote - it was the white one, glowing in the right picture that won everything this year! Congratulations D and J! Thanks for making the trip up from Sacramento!
One of the perks about holding this show at the Palm Gardens, are the peacocks everywhere! Everyone loves to crowd around and take pictures, and the peacocks LOVE the chance to show off! They always know they're being photographed and put on a good show.
Here is a quick look at our trophy table. Trophies are bought specifically for the show, but also donated from members. Prizes are given in all the different camellia categories, but two main prizes are given: Best In Show; for the best overall bloom from the entire exhibition, and Sweepstakes; for person who holds the accumulates the most 1st place wins that day.
All in all, it was a weekend for the record books, and we can't WAIT to do it all again!
SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!