Welcome to Chicagoland!  Our society has been hard at work planning for your arrival this September.  A lot of time, effort, and thought have gone into the activities we have planned for your weekend with us.  We hope to make it a memorable experience.  So come one and all to the "Magnificent Mile of Dahlias" and enjoy a spectacular National Show.

Pheasant Run Resort is an outstanding venue for the 41st National Show.  Pheasant Run is a premier facility offering beautiful accommodations, a day spa, shopping, restaurants, swimming, golf, Zanies Comedy Club, and much more.  There is plenty to see and do.  If you fly your own airplane, Pheasant Run is adjacent to the DuPage County Airport and you will be able to make arrangements to land and store your plane for the weekend.  Across the street from the resort are more restaurants and a major shopping center.  These additional stores and restaurants are within easy walking distance from the hotel.

Thursday evening you will be welcomed to the convention with a reception held in your honor.  This is a relaxing event designed to give you time to visit with dahlia friends from all over the country.

On Friday, the tour will include the Morton Arboretum and the Ball Seed Test Gardens.  You will be bussed in the morning to the Arboretum.  Upon arrival, the group will be given a tour of the facility by means of the Acorn Express Tram.  Our groups will be given private tours of the Arboretum’s green houses which is an option not offered to all tour groups.  Lunch will be served in the Ginkgo Room.  In the afternoon, we will continue our trip by viewing the Ball Seed Test Gardens.  Ball Seed no longer offers tours of their gardens to the public, so we are privileged to be considered a "professional group".  We will have tour guides from Ball Seed to take us through their grounds.  Ball Seed has recently spent large sums of money to completely renovate and upgrade their test grounds.  In the fall, the gardens are a truly a sight to behold!  Upon our return to Pheasant Run you will have the evening free to visit with friends, take a swim, set up your flowers for the show, take advantage of Zanies Comedy Club, or any other activity that pleases you.  People interested in attending the Comedy Club performance should get their registrations in early.  As a special bonus, the first 50 people indicating on their registration form a desire to see the Comedy Club performance will receive a free pass to the show.  You will be notified if you are a lucky recipient.

Saturday, of course, is the big show day!  We will need lots of judges and clerks for this event.  The luncheon will be a buffet.  The evening awards ceremony and banquet will be held amongst the flowers and should be a breathtaking sight.

Sunday will begin with the ADS Classification Meeting, followed by the ADS Annual Meeting.  After lunch, the Sunday tour will depart to two of our members’ gardens.  At the completion of the garden tours, the groups will return to Pheasant Run for a free barbeque/picnic sponsored by the host society, Central States.  Once dinner is concluded, you will be given the opportunity to attend the evening’s dahlia seminars.  Our own dahlia expert, Dr. Dayle Saar, will present one of the seminars.  Dayle is a plant biologist on staff at Murray State University where she active in research and instruction.  She has done extensive research in Mexico and has discovered new species types of dahlias.  Dayle is a fascinating lady.  You won’t want to miss her seminar.

The Monday tour is to downtown Chicago.  In the morning the tour group will visit Sear’s Tower and Navy Pier.  Lunch will be an individual choice at Navy Pier and you will have several restaurants from which to select your meal.  In the afternoon the group will be boarding a cruise ship for an architectural tour on the Chicago River followed by a trip through the locks and out onto Lake Michigan.  There is no better view of the Chicago Skyline than by boat.  Monday’s tour should provide something for everyone!

Central States Dahlia Society is looking forward to being your host for this year’s National Show.  We are eagerly awaiting your arrival.  Make plans to come to Chicagoland.  Enjoy our sights and, of course, our dahlias.  See you soon!