Welcome to Northern Midwest ZNA
|
|
|
Northern Midwest ZNA Koi Club to Hold Its 3rd Annual Koi Show and Pond Expo On September 11th and 12th, the Northern Midwest Zen Nippon Airinkai Koi Club will host its second annual koi show and pond expo at Rizzi’s Flower Garden and Aquatic Center, located at Route 59 and Fraser Road, in Plainfield, Illinois. The doors will open to the public at 10:00 a.m. on both days and close at 5:00 on Saturday and 3:00 Sunday. Admission and parking is free. The fish entered in the show will be judged by Mr. Ron Goforth, Regional ZNA Director for North America, and Bob Johnson, both of whom are from Texas. Mr. Goforth was recently elevated to the position of full certified judge, which makes him the highest ranking non-Japanese koi judge in the world. No other person from outside of Japan has achieved this level of koi expertise, and it is both a privilege and an honor for him to judge our show. Zen Nippon Airinkai (ZNA) is the world’s oldest koi hobby association and has affiliate clubs located in countries all over the world. It is anticipated that between 50 and 75 imported Japanese koi will be on display for judging and overall appreciation by the public. Koi are hybridized carp that were originally developed in Japan over 200 years ago. They are very colorful with red, white and black being the most common color combinations. However, they also come in blues, greens, yellow orange and white, and it is not uncommon for them to exceed 24” in size. Many of the fish that will be entered in the show will be in that size class. Participants in the show will be coming from Chicago, Naperville, Orland Park, Tinley Park, Crest Hill, Lombard, New Lenox, as well as Lafayette and Indianapolis, Indiana, and Louisville, Kentucky. The fish are transported to the show in the same fashion in which they arrived from Japan, namely in water-filled, oxygenated bags. As unlikely as it may seem, large fish can survive in such conditions for up to 24 hours, so it is not uncommon for avid koi enthusiasts to drive 10 to 15 hours with their koi on board to participate in a distant show event. Along with the koi show itself, there will be a pond expo, featuring vendors form as far away as California and Texas. They will be selling imported koi and goldfish, pond supplies such as filters, skimmer boxes, bottom drains, and nets, as well as a variety of koi foods. The filters offered for sale will service a variety of pond sizes, ranging from the 100 gallon starter pond up to those 10,000 gallons and even larger. One of the featured filtration devices, called the Nexus, is made in England and imported to the U.S. Another aspect of the show will be free seminars by leading experts in the field of fish husbandry, pond planning and building, filtration, water plants, and fish health. In addition, the show judges will each present talks in which they explain the complexities of how to evaluate and judge koifish. Each of these presentations will be followed by Q & A sessions. On 10:00 a.m. Saturday, Brett Rowley, a nationally recognized fish biologist and koi farmer, will present a two hour seminar entitled, “Koi 101,” which is a must-see presentation for beginner to intermediate level pond/koi keepers. Brett is one of those rare speakers who can combine humor and wit with a deep knowledge of science and make it all make sense for those of us who are non-scientific. For further information contact: Bob Brudd 708-460-9202 nmzna.org |
|
|
