KAILUA-KONA — If orchids are your thing, consider heading to the Daifukuji Orchid Club’s annual orchid show and sale Sunday at the Daifukuji Soto Mission in Honalo.
The Daifukuji Orchid Club, formed in 1982, will host its 37th annual show and sale, themed “Wonderland of Orchids,” from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the mission next to Teshima’s Restaurant. Admission is free.
The colorful event will feature an array of blooming orchids both for show and sale, a display of memorabilia called “Peering Through the Looking Glass of Orchids,” and the chance to learn about the edibility, medicinal uses and adaptability of orchids.
The event also offers attendees a complimentary orchid boutonniere corsage — while they last.
A taiko performance will delight eventgoers at 10 a.m.
“Peering Through the Looking Glass of Orchids,” is an exhibit by Carol Zakahi, a self-proclaimed orchid enthusiast and the historian and secretary of the Daifukuji Orchid Club, overseen by Tomatsu (Tom) Kadooka, a flower grower and plant afficionado. It will include various orchid memorabilia and collectibles.
Zakahi’s enthusiasm for orchids came from two books given to her by Col. Leicester Winthrop Bryan, a Kona resident from Boston who contributed to the growth of 10 million trees on the island.
“My passion for orchids came from Col. Winthrope Bryan,” said Zakahi. “I was only 13 when I met him. When I was dusting his books in his library, he asked me if I liked books. Growing up, we had only one big book, so we never really had many of them. He told me that I could have any two books in his library. For some reason, the book ‘Adventures of an Orchid Hunter’ caught my eye because it had some gold trimmings.”
In addition to the show, sale, and more, those with questions can ask the “orchid doctor.”
There’s also the opportunity to take a self-guided tour of the mission’s on-site Orchid Grotto to learn ways to harmonize and beautify a challenging space with orchids.
