It’s almost prom season — Are you ready?
Unless you’ve lived under a rock for the last decade, you know that prom is not what it used to be. Long gone are the days of the simple corsage worn to a dance held in the high school gym. Today’s teens spend months preparing for the big night, and for some, it is one of the most major events in their young lives. Are you and your store prepared to help them celebrate in style?
Hortiflora Expo set for Ethiopia
For the sixth time Hortiflora Expo 2015 will be held as a biennial trade fair at the Millennium Hall in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, March 25-27. The expo will serve as a platform for exhibiting national and international suppliers who want to meet Ethiopian growers and for Ethiopian growers who want to meet international floral buyers, according to a news release.
WUMFA convention scheduled
The Wisconsin & Upper Michigan Florists Association’s annual convention, under the banner “Fields of Green,” will be held at the Green Bay Radisson Hotel & Convention Center in Green Bay, WI, March 20-22, according to a news release.
WUMFA president Diane Schulte expressed the hope that members will “use this opportunity to build your success at home where your ‘fields of green’ flourish.”
Efforts to bring California flowers back to Rose Parade gain momentum
The Tournament of Roses Parade is a yearly tradition that started 126 years ago as a way to showcase the beautiful weather and bountiful flowers grown in California during a time when much of the country is covered in snow. The irony of this year’s parade was that it was actually snowing in the region for the first time this winter and forecasters were predicting near freezing temperatures for the paradein Pasadena, CA..
American Floral Endowment holds trustees board meeting
The American Floral Endowment board of trustees met in Orlando, FL, Jan. 19-20, to review strategic goals for the funding of education, research, scholarships, internships and marketing initiatives for the entire floriculture industry, including growers, wholesalers, retailers, suppliers, allied organizations and consumers. Terril A. Nell, newly elected research coordinator for the AFE, organized the University of Florida visit.
Great Lakes expo set for March 6-8
Floral industry members from across the country are expected to attend the 2015 Great Lakes Floral Expo at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel/DeVos Place in Grand Rapids, MI, March 6-8, according to a news release.
The three-day “Floral Fantasy” expo will feature design spectaculars, business sessions, hands-on workshops and the opportunity to network with industry professionals. New this year is the tablescape design contest “A Night of Fantasy” and the tablescapes will decorate the Pantlind Ballroom.
DNA Green Group expands
The DNA Green Group, a company formed by the merger of the Dummen Group and Agribio Group in 2013 headquartered in the Netherlands and a leader in advanced scientific breeding and selection techniques of flowers and plants, announced in a news release the acquisition of two additional companies.
ASCFG hosts grower meetings
The Association of Cut Flower Growers will host two meetings in two different parts of the country in March, according to a news release.
The first will be held at the Georgia Center in Athens, GA, March 2-3 and speaker sessions include using woody ornamentals as cut flowers, postharvest handling techniques, healthy soils, optimizing productivity with planting, zinnia secrets and a wreath-making demonstration. Tours of local flower farms Woodland Gardens, 3 Porch Farm and Davis Floral will take place on March 3.
World Floral Expo attendance figures projected to triple over last year’s show
HPP Exhibitions, the Netherlands-based organizers of World Floral Expo 2015, are anticipating many more buyers, including bigger mass-market buyers, to attend the international flower trade show slated for March 11-13 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, compared to last year’s successful fair in Chicago. All segments of the buyers’ chain, from importers to retail florists, are expected to attend and the number of pre-registered buyers is higher than ever, while traditionally most registrations take place after Valentine’s Day, according to a news release.
SAF heads to Capitol Hill
The Society of American Florists’ Congressional Action Days, the industry’s annual grassroots campaign in Washington, DC, takes place March 9-10.
“I have attended for many years now, and I have seen positive results that not only affect my business but have affected myself and my family, too,” Dave Self, owner at Wyld West Annuals in Loxahatchee, FL, and chair of the SAF Government Joint Council, said in a press release.