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A Judged show in over 100 categories of succulent plants!
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World renowned expert speakers on Cactus and Succulents!
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A Banquet with the speakers and many noted C&S growers!
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A special Specimen Plant auction following the banquet!
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Specialty C&S vendors offering all varieties of hard to find cactus & succulents including many cold hardy species!
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Outstanding selection of Cactus & Succulent books will be on sale!
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Rub elbows and swap advice with some of the premiere growers of Cactus & Succulents!
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Special Boston Harbor tour for those staying on through Monday!
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The Boston area is a great destination area and you may wish to stay on for a while and vacation in the 'hub'.
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There are literally thousands of things to do in the area ranging from the Red Sox and Fenway Park (no guarantee on tickets!) to Harvard University and MIT.
Why not consider bringing the whole family along? Not everyone is captivated with the fascinating world of Cacti and Succulents but we're sure they'll find more than enough to entertain themselves - and we'll help. We will have a staffed desk of area attractions and folks more than willing to help out arrange any excursion whether it be to the beaches on Cape Cod or fine dining followed with a concert.
Click here for further information!
16th
Eastern
Radisson
Chelmsford Hotel & Conference Center
Chelmsford, MA
The Cactus and Succulent Society of Massachusetts is pleased to announce that it will be hosting the 16th Eastern C&S Conference at the Radisson Chelmsford Hotel and Conference Center in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
* A special update on the Conference, please read. *
We have spent the past year lining up a stellar roster of internationally known speakers and vendors to make this the premier Cactus & Succulent event in the east.
Some of the speakers, coming great distances for this event, include:
- Steven Hammer - of the Sphaeroid Institute, California, international authority on Mesembryanthemums, Haworthia and other South African succulents.
- Ernst van Jaarsveld - Kirstenbosch Botanic Gardens, South Africa, internationally known authority on Gasteria and the Flora of South Africa.
- Panayoti Kelaidis - Denver Botanic Garden, international authority on hardy succulents and alpines.
- Mark Dimmitt PhD - Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Adenium, Pachypodium, Trichocereus & more.
- Dennis Cathcart - of Tropiflora, Florida, explorer and grower of bromeliads and tropical succulents
Other featured speakers include some of the premiere succulent cultivators in the North East:
- Chris Allen - from Connecticut, grower of magnificent caudiciforms
- Dr. Jerry Barad - from New Jersey, former CSSA president, Stapeliad expert & more.
- Fred Kattermann - from New Jersey, expert on Copiapoa, Eriosyce and other South American cacti.
- Glen Lord - of Bonsai West in Massachusetts, grower of caudiciform bonsai.
- Matt Mattus - of Massachusetts, authority on South African bulbs.
- Dr. Matt Opel - of the University of Connecticut, noted expert on many succulents especially those of South Africa.
A lot of effort and time is being offered by this assemblage of authorities on behalf of the C&S community.
Unfortunately, the response has been less than anticipated and with fewer and fewer people attending each year this may very well be the last Eastern C&S conference.
Unless the conference is supported by the C&S community it will be more difficult to attract quality speakers and vendors in the future and the event will be economically unfeasible.
Our club, the Cactus & Succulent Society of Massachusetts, had planned to underwrite the initial costs ourselves but we find that those costs have increased quite a bit in the past year. Air fares alone, for the speakers coming long distances, are reaching the point where the ability to pay for all of them at this point is a challenge.
The increasing price of fuel has obviously had a significant impact on this event and all other aspects of life for all of us. However, we feel the cost of domestic travel has not increased to the point where it should affect our enjoyment of our hobby.
The Radisson Chelmsford Hotel’s conference rate of $84 per room/night is unbeatable for the superb quality of the accommodations provided by the hotel, and our registrants will be provided a limited number of deluxe rooms depending upon date of registration.
We have decided to extend the early-bird registration of $110 through Sat. July 12. The Sat. night banquet, followed by an auction, will remain at $30 and the Super Duck amphibious tour on 8/18 of Boston and its harbor is still $30.
It would be appreciated if you would immediately help publicize the conference to your fellow hobbyists and hopefully convince some to come with you to the conference.
If each eastern club could help us get a few more of their members to register for the conference, it would help to make it a success.
If this event, with its stellar roster of international speakers, in an outstanding hotel, in a prime tourist destination is not successful, then we must seriously question whether any future Eastern Conferences will take place.
Please contact us for any details you may wish to discuss. We are counting on your help in making this conference a success and thus ensure the possibility of future Eastern Conferences.
Thank you.
Art Scarpa artscarpa@comcast.net
Dan Downey dand@succulentplant.info
Co-Chairs
16th Eastern Cactus & Succulent Conference