Very much looking forward to seeing everyone in person this upcoming Sunday, April 10th. Yes, you read that correctly, we will be meeting at our regular meeting location, the Asheville Visitor Center, 2nd floor at 2:00 pm. Seems like it has been longer than two years since we’ve had a ‘normal’ WNCOS meeting. Much to be excited about, so I hope everyone makes the effort to come out and attend. For our board members, we will be gathering at 1:00 pm for an in-person board meeting, with our regular members meeting beginning at 2:00pm sharp. While we will be meeting in person, we will have special guest speaker, Eric Sauer from Ohio coming to us through the screen via ZOOM. Eric’s presentation is ‘Best Practices - Buying Orchids’. I do believe we will have an introduction, followed immediately by Eric Sauer via ZOOM.

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Hello WNCOS members and friends! Thank you to all the members who attended our Zoom meeting last month with Ron Parsons. It was enjoyed by all, and his stories and photography were just incredible.

Here are some exciting announcements and I ask that you carefully read this newsletter to ensure you’re not confused with dates and details. One more month of an online ZOOM meeting from home this upcoming Sunday afternoon, March 13 at 2:00 pm. Then, we will return to our in-person meeting location on Sunday, April 10th at 2:00 pm. That in-person meeting next month is one we’re excited about. We will have an array of activities including a guest speaker presenting to us via ZOOM on the projector screen. We’ll finally have the return of the show and tell, so plan on bringing in your best flowering plant and tell us all about it! Finally, we’ll have an expanded raffle as a great way to celebrate our ability to be back together again, in our regular meeting location at the Visitor’s Center.

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Happy Holidays WNCOS family and friends! We have some exciting news about an in-person meeting on Sunday, December 12th. Please be sure to read the details regarding the date, time, and location. It has been yet another frustrating year for us, with little opportunity to have in-person meetings along with our inability to bring in incredible speakers. We have high hopes for 2022 and are counting on the new year to bring us some better news with regard to the pandemic. Please stay tuned and watch for details as right now we are unsure about our schedule of events next year.

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Hoping everyone has continued to stay well and healthy. As we’ve all seen with the rising spread of the Delta variant, lots of changes have continued to occur. We have temporarily lost our meeting space at the Asheville Visitor Center and Lenoir Rhyne University. Therefore, we will not be having a meeting this month. Please continue to stay tuned to the website for any further updates and announcements.

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Greetings from Graham’s Greenhouse,

BIG NEWS! We are breaking the ice of the pandemic isolation. This Sunday, July11th, our meeting will be live and in person. Since the Asheville Visitor Center (Lenoir Rhyne boardroom) has not opened back up yet, we will be gathering at Lake Julian Park. We have rented Shelter #1 which is large and has a great view of the lake.

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This Sunday at 2 pm will be our next monthly meeting. Hopefully, it will be one of our last meetings held exclusively via ZOOM. We are eyeing a hopeful return to an in-person meeting later this year, while obviously monitoring the COVID-19 virus and its effects. Stay tuned and know that once we’re able to meet in person we hope to do so in grand fashion and obviously while remaining safe. We have been discussing some options for a sheltered outdoor location. Should you have a great recommendation for us, please let us know. As always, keep an eye on the website for announcements, events, updates, etc.

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Spring greetings from the WNCOS! Well, it’s April and something clearly is not right around here. I am so very sorry that we were unable to host the Asheville Orchid Festival this year. Having been asked countless times by folks here recently, it is a sore subject of mine and this has gone on long enough. A reminder that we have penciled in good solid dates for April of next year at the North Carolina Arboretum. We will be ready! Matter of fact, it is about time to begin planning and working toward the festival so we’ll ask you all again to be thinking about how you’d like to be involved. For any new members who are curious about our orchid festival, we will be soliciting your input as we move forward. It is a tremendous event, an incredible undertaking, and something we are proud of. It takes the entirety of our group of volunteers to be successful, and we do all we can to make it fun. So, be ready to join us in the planning, and let’s get focused on April of 2022.

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We hope this finds everyone doing well! Spring is nearing closer and we’re all busting at the seams to get out of the house. We hope you are staying on top of your orchid collections and enjoying those incredible spring flowers! Obviously, we are all sorry that we have had to skip out on two consecutive spring orchid festivals, but I can share with you that have penciled in some dates for 2022. That first weekend of April 2022 will serve as our hopeful dates for the next Asheville Orchid Festival. So, you have all been warned. Try to avoid the first week of April when planning your pent-up vacation plans in the spring of next year.

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