The 2014 Hilo Orchid Society Show display will take on a different look this year as sculptor Shelby Smith interprets the show theme, “Symphony of Orchids.”
The 2014 Hilo Orchid Society Show display will take on a different look this year as sculptor Shelby Smith interprets the show theme, “Symphony of Orchids.”
Smith will use recycled pallets to create a 3-D landscape alluding to a music score. Orchid plants supplied by members of the Hilo Orchid Society will become the notes dancing across the surface of the undulating form created by the pallets.
“This display will allow for an up-close look at the orchids because they will be displayed vertically on the landscape of the pallets,” Smith said. “This will enable the viewers to walk right up and see the amazing detail in each plant. The design was inspired by the continued need to reuse and upscale materials.”
Smith also intends the display to be photographer friendly and even selfie friendly. He has degrees in architecture and design ceramics and holds a master’s degree in sculpture. He is an avid orchid grower, a member and trustee of the Hilo Orchid Society, and lives in Hawaiian Paradise Park.
This will be the 62nd annual Hilo Orchid Show &Sale. It will take place Friday through Sunday, Aug. 1-3, at Edith Kanaka‘ole Multipurpose Stadium in Hilo.
Tickets are available until July 30 — at a pre-show sale price of $3 — at Paradise Plants, Hilo Coffee Mill and Garden Exchange, and from society members. At the door, tickets will be $5; children 12 and younger are free.
An additional fee of $3 may be paid at the door to convert the tickets to a three-day super-pass.
The show kicks off with a benefit preview party from 6-9 p.m. Thursday, July 31, to benefit Hilo Orchid Society Scholarship Fund and Ku‘ikahi Mediation Center. Tickets are $65.
For more information, visit www.hiloorchidsociety.org and watch a short video of last year’s show at www.youtube.com.