LIHUE — Marit McHugh had mixed feelings Friday morning while setting up plants for the “Honoring Mothers” orchid show and sale at the Kukui Grove Center. “This is my mother’s last sale,” McHugh said. “After this sale, I’m on my
LIHUE — Marit McHugh had mixed feelings Friday morning while setting up plants for the “Honoring Mothers” orchid show and sale at the Kukui Grove Center.
“This is my mother’s last sale,” McHugh said. “After this sale, I’m on my own with Lyn Ubongen and Makaleha Nursery in doing all the events like the Garden Fair, the Kauai County Farm Bureau Fair, and this show.”
Liz Ronaldson, McHugh’s mother, said she is finally retiring after many years of doing the annual expo at the shopping center.
“We sold the nursery, and now, I can start traveling and doing other things,” Ronaldson said. “Of course, I’ll be stopping by to see how things are going, but I won’t be doing the sales.”
The annual Kauai Orchid Show and Sale opened Friday with a host of other orchid-related activities such as artists painting on site, workshops, and the show and sale. The activity continues through 5 p.m. Saturday.
Neill Sams of Orchid Alley, a member of the Kauai Orchid Society and longtime show supporter, earned Best in Show honors with his vanda coerulea specimen, the item not yet named.
Helping the decision, the vanda coerulea also earned the American Orchid Society’s Award of Merit, the sole specimen in the show to earn the prestigious award presented by AOS-certified judges led by Karen Kimmerle of Hilo, Hawaii.
Opening Friday afternoon, the orchid show and sale runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday at the Kukui Grove Center exhibition area between Zales Jewelry and Deja Vu Hawaii, offering blooming orchid and other plants as well as items from participating artists and vendors.