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Pacific Wonderland Koi Club 2005 Grant Article
 
Pacific Wonderland Koi Club - Japanese Festival
by Sharon Richardson
The purpose of our participation in the Uwajimaya Japanese Festival September 18-19, 2005 was to be informative to
the public about the hobby of Koi keeping and, since it was a Japanese Festival, raise awareness of the contribution the Japanese
have made to the Koi. We set up our display on Friday night with 2 show tanks. With
the wonderful display of Water features and exotic plants provided by Hughes Water Gardens we where ready in grand style for
Saturday and Sunday. As the weather cooperated this year we had a steady stream of questions to answer! We had color pages
and crayons for the children provided by Judy Ramento and Elmers Pancake House in Beaverton.
Ron Zitzewitz had hand stamps with Koi figures for the children. Our video of the All Japan Show was showing and created
a lot of comments. Since our booth was directly across from the stage we were entertained by the various Japanese groups,
this added to the overall festival atmosphere for our club display! It was a great success and without all of the members
hard work the public wouldn't have had the exposure to the wonderful world of Koi.
 Washington Koi & Water Garden Society 2005 Grant Article
Washington Koi & Water Garden Society spent the day at the market, Redmond Farmers' Market, that is. We had been invited to one of the busiest & oldest farmers' markets in the
Seattle area. Club volunteers set up a booth on Saturday, June 11. We introduced people to koi-keeping & water gardening, by using several enticing
visual aids. A TV monitor ran continuous tapes of THE LIVING JEWELS. Our
water feature at ground level was a kid magnet. We passed out club brochures
& free back copies of KOI USA & NISHIKIGOI magazines. We answered many
questions about koi-keeping & our club's activities. It was a fun day, in
a relaxed & festive market. We
were very pleased to share our love of koi & water gardening with so many people.
Northwest Koi & Goldfish Club 2005 Grant Article
 
Children’s
Day at The Japanese Garden
Display
by: Northwest Koi & Goldfish Club
Parents all over the world take great pride in their children, but each year in Japan,
two separate festivals are held in their honor: March 3rd for girls and May 5th for boys. At the Japanese
Garden in Portland, they combine the two days and celebrate Children’s Day. Because of this fun day, getting young children
interested in becoming future koi keepers has never been a problem for members of the Northwest Koi and Goldfish Club.
Since Children’s Day at the Japanese Garden is always
on the first Sunday in May, we never know how the weather will be, but this year we were blessed with a really beautiful day.
The day before, when we set up at tank on the east deck of the garden’s pavilion, it was raining so we were pleasantly
pleased that Sunday turned out to be sunny and warm. The children swarmed around the tank to ask questions and admire the
koi. Club members talked to the children and answered the many interesting questions from these inquisitive little minds;
“How old are they?”, “Do they bite?”, “Do they have names?”, “What do they eat?”,
“Do you eat them?”, “How big do they get?”, “How long do they live?”, “Can I pet
them?”. This year we were prepared for their many questions with a pamphlet that was designed just for them and handed
out.
The children enjoyed so many hands-on activities at the Garden;
sumi brush painting, block printing, ikebana, koi drawings, and folding origami koi provided by Northwest Koi and Goldfish
Club. But of all of the activities at the Garden the children seem to enjoy visiting
and sometimes petting the koi the most. However, this year it was a little sad as the children’s favorite koi, a large
yamabuki ogon named Traveler, was not in the tank. Several children asked where Traveler was and it was hard to tell them
that he couldn’t make it this year (the truth was that he was old and didn’t make it through the winter). They
really missed his friendliness, he actually reached up to the children’s hands to be petted!
We always have lots of fish stickers for the children, but
this year we had a special gift for each one. On one of our shopping trips we had found some wonderful fish necklaces and
they were definitely the hit of the day with both the children and the parents. We ran out before the day was over and vowed
next year to have twice as many so we would not have any disappointed little faces looking up at us again next year.
This beautiful Spring day was so much fun and the children’s smiles so enjoyable that the members of Northwest
Koi & Goldfish Club hope to continue to help with Children’s Day at the Japanese Garden for years to come!
Submitted by: Sharmaine Haderly
Northwest Koi & Goldfish Club PNKCA Representative
Photos by: Bill Montgomery
Olympic Koi, Goldfish and Watergarden Club's 2005
Grant Article
The Olympic
Koi and Water Garden Club held a Koi Appreciation Day held at the Roadhouse Nursery in Silverdale to promote the hobby of
Koi keeping and water gardening on July 16, 2005. Our members spoke and held sessions on Koi Identification, Pond Construction,
Filters, UV lights, general electrical needs for the ponds and Care of Water Plants in our ponds. Refreshments were
served and of course there was no charge to the community. Our club members had a barbecue after the event, winding
up a great Day.
Our club also
held the annual Pond Tour on August 13, 2005. There were 7 ponds on the tour with the tickets being sold for the
club at the Roadhouse Nursery. As usual we charged $5.00 for adults with children under 18, free.
Besides donating
$500.00 to the AKCA to help with the KVA problem, our club is going to help with the expenses of our two members who are currently
taking the KVA classes being held at this time. We are happy to say Lei Philbrick, and Dave Smeja are taking this class
to help our members with our pets and of course, any needs with KOI health that might come up in our local community.
Jerry Hames Olympic Koi and Water Garden Club
Yakima Valley Koi and Water Garden Club 2005 Grant Article
The Yakima Valley Koi
and Water Garden Club hosted a free seminar on Saturday, July 9, 2005 at Russell’s Nursery in Yakima. The seminar, Koi
101: Pets or Fertilizer, featured speaker Al Fearon. Al, a well versed authority on Koi, believes in the education of all
Koi keepers to avoid the pitfalls of not knowing about your fish friends, other than they may have had indoor aquariums. After
the seminar Al fielded questions from the 34 participants on water quality, diseases, food, filters, and much more. The club
offered half-price membership and welcomed ten new members.
Cascade
Koi & Goldfish Club 2005 Grant Article
 February 18 - 20, 2005, Cascade Koi and Goldfish Club, had a
booth at the
Yard, Garden and Patio Show in Portland, Oregon. We had the Club's Koi on display, along with information
for people to look at, showing them what kind of information was available through joining our Club. We used AKCA pamplets
and past Cascade Club Newsletters, our Club quilt, a disasembled fillter, some media, a net, and other accessories to show
the public what we used to take care of our wet pets. Pictured is member Jeff Thomas, who always is eager to help.
Most
of the attendees came to us with questions about predator prevention.
We took turns manning the booth with energetic and
outgoing Club Members, eager to answer their questions. Presenting our hobby to the public is a good way to attract
new members to the Club and to the hobby of Koi and Goldfish keeping. Many thanks to our display chair, Pete Garner,
for all the hours of manning the booth and his hard work setting it up and taking it down.
Our booth was a big hit
with the children, many of which were not too impressed with the grown-up part of the Show. We all look forward to doing
the booth each year.
Sally Karo
PNKCA Representative
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