Fall 2023 Show and Sale
WHERE & WHEN | VISITOR TIPS | HOW TO HELP | SHOW-ENTRY RULES
Back and bigger than ever!
A three-day extravaganza of plant show and plant sale. Free and open to the public — bring a friend and a box! Spectacular plants on display will compete for your votes, while a wide variety of cacti and succulents, along with handcrafted pottery and assorted accessories, will be up for sale.
Featuring
- Exceptional plants on display for our plant show. Open for public voting on Saturday. Grab some voting dots at the Membership Table and tag your favorite contenders!
- Rarities. 30+ Plant vendors selling unusual and rare species of succulents & cacti you can’t buy in stores.
- Expanded hand-made pottery selection. Craftspeople whose work you've admired at previous sales will be joined by new vendors.
- Expert growing advice. The vendors who raised the plants from seeds and pups will be there to answer your questions and provide suggestions.
- Plant Hotel. Save your arms, and drop your full boxes off with us until you're ready to check out.
- Free Parking! Enter throught Gate C — see below — and park free of charge.
- A worthy cause. Proceeds support the Cactus and Succulent Society of San Jose’s monthly programs and further our mission of community, education, conservation and propagation.
Where and When
Where
The Show and Sale will take place in the Fiesta Hall of the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds, just off of Old Tully Road, southeast of downtown San Jose.
Parking will be free for all — volunteers, vendors, and attendees — who enter through Gate C, off of Old Tully Road. If you're heading northeast on Old Tully, Gate C will be to your right. Drive through and park in the lot; Fiesta Hall will be next to the far left corner of that lot.
When
Friday, October 6th through Sunday, October 8th.
General Access
The Show and Sale is free, and will be open to the public during the following days and times. Tap a day's entry to automatically add it to your Calendar, or go here here to add all three days at once.
Society Member Early Access:
- Friday:
- 3PM - 5PM
- Friday:
- 3PM - 5PM
Society members will also be able to skip the entry line.
You can become a member now for $15 (individual) or $20 (household).
Visitor Tips
- Saturday mornings tend to be extremely busy! If If you don’t like crowds, you might want to wait until after 2 PM, or Sunday.
- The doors will not open early.
- Bring your own boxes — while we will have some on-site, bringing your own will spare you from having to hunt for the one that's "just right".
- You may want to take advantage of our Plant Hotel (see its information page) to hold your plants while you continue shopping. Be sure to hang on to the numbered tags you're given, so you can retrieve your plants.
- Pets, in particular dogs, are not allowed. (Sorry. It’s not that we don’t love them. It’s just that it’s safer for everyone if they stay home, and in any case, fairgrounds rules forbid it.)
- To make shopping safer and more pleasant, the aisles will be wider than in pre-pandemic days.
- The wider aisles notwithstanding, while you’re welcome to bring your cart to help transport all of your purchases, please keep said cart out of the aisles themselves.
- For faster checkout, please plan to pay by debit or credit card. Our systems support contactless payment, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. Unfortunately, we are unable to take checks. Cash is acceptable.
- You can sign up for CSSSJ membership at the Show and Sale, as well as online. Please note, however, that we will not be taking membership signups at the door during early access.
How Can I Help?
Thanks for asking! There are several things you can do before and during the event.
- Volunteer! If you’re a member, please consider volunteering via our online form. You get to interact with customers, as well as fellow club members, in a fun environment. You also earn $10 in Show Bucks, discounts usable with any purchase, for each Volunteer slot you fill, as well as first dibs on shopping early Friday afternoon. (You could earn up to $90 in Show Bucks if you filled time slots spanning the whole event!)
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Spread the Word! Point your friends at our on-line resources:
- General Info: our website, as well as at the club’s Facebook, Instagram, and Nextdoor pages.
- Show and Sale: In addition to the page you're viewing right now, we have Facebook, Nextdoor, and EventBrite pages specific to the event, as well as a flyer and Instagram post (along with the one at the top of the page) that you're welcome to download and share far and wide.
What Are The Rules For Entering The “People’s Choice” Show?
- You must be a current member of CSSSJ.
- You must have owned the plants you exhibit for at least six months.
- Because it is a People’s Choice show, rather than a judged show, you may choose to be a bit more relaxed in selecting your entries. However, we encourage you to enter your best as you want to garner the most votes from the public.
- Each member is allowed a maximum of 10 plants to show, as we have a limited amount of space for them. Please provide a list of what you are entering, with your name on it, to assist with our recordkeeping.
- Entries need to arrive by 4:30 PM Friday for the show. You will find entry tags for each classification (see below for details). Write up your tags, putting the information on both halves. Fold in half, leaving your name on both halves for the counting of points.
- Exhibitor Classifications:
- Novice: You are under 18, have not won a total of 50 first-place ribbons in previous CSSA affiliated shows, or have been competing for less than 5 years.
- Advanced: If you no longer qualify as a novice, you must exhibit in this class.
- Open: If you possess or have possessed a nurseryman’s license, or earn a substantial income from the sale of plants, you must exhibit in this class.