2025 National Show Chicago

MIDahlias · 2025-02-22T06:24:26+00:00

This year's national show is being hosted by Central States Dahlia Society. Head to their website if you want to receive show updates. I requested if they...

MissyWeitzel

MIDahlias Thanks! I was looking for more info last week. I'm excited to go to my first national show this fall.

Juliarugula

MissyWeitzel I'm excited to go to my first national show this fall.

Me too!

MIDahlias

MissyWeitzel I'm very excited too. I need to call the hotel to see if they have microwaves and refrigerators in the rooms. The hotel doesn't have continental breakfast. So, I need to plan a few meals.

DarcyD

Juliarugula Me three! We'll have to meet up! I'm pretty sure I'm going to attempt to show, too. It would only be my second time and that first time was probably 15 years ago now. Intimidating, but I'm going to go for it.

MissyWeitzel

MIDahlias I live in the boonies and can't order delivery services like GrubHub or UberEats so I take advantage when out of town. As much as I love show weekends, I'm an introvert and all the socializing really drains me. I don't share a room with friends because I need that alone time in my hotel room to recharge. Usually the drivers will deliver right to my hotel room and it works great for me for breakfast. I'm sure Chicago will have loads of options!

MIDahlias

MissyWeitzel and I'm in a suburb with ten pizza places within two miles, three Mexican restaurants that I can think of also less than two miles. I enjoy being in a hotel room, away from everything.

In my twenties I shared hotel rooms with friends. I'm with you. I prefer my own room to come to go to when I just want to be. When traveling with my granddaughter, I obviously room with her and my mom. However, if I'm traveling solo, I like my own room.

What is going on with the hotel on the other side of 96 from FMG? That is where I like to stay. Is there going to be road construction that will not allow one to go from the South side of the freeway to the North Side?

NCDahlia

I never liked kevin floodlight dahlia lol

MIDahlias

NCDahlia I stopped growing it... but for a chance at $100, I hope to find a tuber this year.

Teddahlia

Kelvin Floodlight used to be the top selling dahlia in the world every year and it still might be. The Dutch find that it sells very well and grow lots of it. I believe they sell 500,000- of them per year (probably, somewhat inaccurate info taken from memory) . People do not generally know that it is an Australian variety and is not very good tuber maker. The Dutch do not like to sell good tuber makers as they weigh too much to ship. In all the 30 years plus that I have gone to dahlia shows, I have never seen it at a show. That does not mean it is not shown and I understand it has been show here and there. For me it was always there not here.

magucci

See you there!

MissyWeitzel

MIDahlias I'm not sure because I only get up that way for meetings! Jeff said something about a road closure happening near FMG where the EBL crosses over top of the highway during the time when we host nationals in 2026 but that's as much as I know. The other tidbit I heard is FMG will be hosting a big Chihuly glass exhibit during the same time as nationals. It's gonna be crazy! And FUN. I'm excited.

DarcyD

MissyWeitzel I hadn’t heard about the art glass exhibit. That’s very exciting!!

Emilyp

Oooh, I have always wanted to see those glass exhibits, very excited!