Setting the record straight on the future of Canada Blooms
Editor’s note: Canada Blooms show manager Gerry Ginsburg announced plans to co-locate
the festival with the National Home Show in 2012.
By Tony DiGiovanni CHTR
executive director
It is very important
to realize that we are not selling Canada Blooms to the Home Show, nor are we
partnering with a for-profit show. This must be made very clear. The shows will
remain separate. They are simply locating in the same venue and same date.
Each show will
advertise its own event, issue its own tickets and have its own entrances.
However, the Canada Blooms ticket will allow visitors to enter into the Home
Show, and the Home Show ticket will allow visitors into Canada Blooms.
The original vision
for Canada Blooms was a charitable, community-based, world-class event that showcased
the very best in horticulture and floriculture. Proceeds then and now are used
for legacy garden projects. It
is not a business and cannot operate as one. It must be able to mobilize and
benefit communities and generations. It must infect all visitors with a desire
to contribute to their community and environment. It must reflect the core
values of community stewardship, volunteer participation, contribution,
celebration, education and pursuit of excellence.
We wanted to
unify the professional and amateur horticultural communities by bringing together
all those who had a passion and enthusiasm for gardens, flowers, plants and
green space in a grand celebration meant to create an unforgettable impression
on visitors. We strive to reach out and stir each visitor’s emotion. Our
sincere desire to fulfill this goal is behind our motivation to negotiate a
co-location arrangement with the home show. The proposed
relationship will enhance both events.
Here are the five
main reasons we are co-locating with the National Home Show:
-
Locating
Canada Blooms and the National Home Show in one location will make it one of
the largest events in North America. The size, scope and added attendance will
generate enough energy and resources to enhance and improve the gardens and
floral displays. We will also generate enough revenue to contribute to
community-related horticultural projects, thus fulfilling our legacy
mandate. - The co-location agreement will allow each
organization to focus on its respective strengths. Canada Blooms will be able
to focus on education, gardens, floral arts and community
building/contribution. The Home Show
will focus on the marketplace, business aspects and logistics. This will allow
Canada Blooms staff to focus on the festival part of our event. They will have
much more time to go after sponsors, develop grant proposals, liaise with bus
tour companies, and develop creative partnerships with other cultural events. - The co-location arrangement will give Canada
Blooms the opportunity to raise awareness for the societal benefits of
horticulture and floriculture to an entirely different audience. The
demographic profile for Canada Blooms is 75 per cent women, 35 to 55. The
audience for the Home Show is younger, first-time homeowners with more males
comprising its demographic. This complementary mix will benefit both
shows. - The co-location will allow Canada Blooms to
revert to a “garden and floral” presentation area. All non-related exhibitors will be directed
to the National Home Show. - Co-location is good for visitors and exhibitors. Visitors will be able to get into both
events with one ticket. Exhibitors will
generate more revenue because of increased attendance.
Landscape Ontario
supports the relationship between Canada Blooms and the Home Show because it
will accelerate the vision to produce a world class garden and floral festival
that contributes to the community. I still remember Kathy Dembroski’s comment
before the birth of Canada Blooms. She
wanted Canada Blooms to be a gift to the community. We do too.
The following
questions and answers will add further clarity:
Will
the Canada Blooms brand be diluted?
No. The Canada Blooms
brand will be strengthened. The quality of the gardens and floral displays will
improve. There will be a separate entrance, separate marketing and separate
tickets. The integrity of Canada Blooms as a world class, non-profit festival
will be maintained and enhanced. The vision and core values will remain the
same.
Will
Canada Blooms be moving to a ten-day show?
Yes. The original
vision of Canada Blooms was for a ten-day show. This was copied from the
Philadelphia Flower and Garden Show. This length of time presents logistical
issues with respect to the flowering plants and volunteer forces, however,
Philadelphia has been operating for over 100 years as a ten-day show. We will
learn from their experience. A ten-day show also has many benefits. The
increased exposure will allow many more people to benefit. We are also looking
at strategies to accommodate those exhibitors who may not be able to run ten
days, so five-day options are being looked at.
Are
you concerned that Canada Blooms will be perceived as a for-profit home show?
With this co-location arrangement, the business
aspects of the show will disappear. We will look much more like the festival
that we truly are.
What do you hope to achieve with this co-location?
We hope to
strengthen Canada Blooms so that we can focus on spreading our message of
“societal benefit.” Currently, the majority of people plant gardens for
aesthetic reasons. However, those of us in the nursery and landscape industry
know that plants, gardens and green infrastructure improve quality of life in
many other ways. Living green infrastructure provides economic, environmental,
lifestyle, therapeutic, recreational, spiritual, tourism, health and community
benefits. Canada Blooms can help the public become more aware of the benefits
of green space.
What about logistics of building gardens and setting
up floral displays?
It will
certainly be a challenge to build gardens at the same time that the National
Home Show is building the Dream Home. However, with proper planning and more
time added to the build, we should be able to simplify the process. In addition, Canada Blooms will
locate in Hall A, which is slightly larger than the current Hall B. There are
also dedicated loading docks in Hall A.
Tony DiGiovanni may be reached via email.
