AVSA 2014 National Convention & Show  ~  "Violet Pickin' in Nashville"  
Hosted by Optimara / Holtkamp Violets
Get Ready For A Fun Week! AVSA Showroom Times, Optimara Tour Times

Open to the public - Sheraton Music City Hotel, 777 McGavock Pike
There will be an AVSA commercial salesroom with vendors from different parts of the country Friday & Saturday..
During the week, seminars covering all aspects of growing and showing African Violets will be held for AVSA members.

Optimara Tours will be FREE - Friday and Saturday May 30th & 31st, Each Hour on the Hour - 9am to 4pm.

Visit the AVSA convention page for The most up-to-date info - Full schedule available at: http://www.avsa.org/convention

PRESS RELEASE: AVSA 2014 CONVENTION & SHOW IN NASHVILLE

FOR RELEASE May 7, 2014

Media Contact: Julia Nentwig, Optimara
Phone: 615-228-2683
Email: julia@optimara.com
Free-Use Images to accompany release: http://www.optimara.com/avsa2014/index.htm#press

We are pleased to announce that the African Violet Society of America’s (AVSA) 68th annual convention and show is coming to the Nashville metro area May 26th through June 1st, 2014. This colorful event will be hosted by Nashville's own Optimara Violets, the largest African Violet grower in the USA.

Growers and enthusiasts from around the country will exhibit a dazzling array of African Violets at the Sheraton Music City Hotel. A commercial vendor showroom will satisfy visitors’ craving to own one of these beautiful plants. To celebrate the first AVSA convention in Nashville since 1953, Optimara will be introducing the first retail-available green African Violet.

A special attraction for this year's show will be public tours of the Optimara greenhouse during convention week. At over 500,000 square feet, it is the largest African Violet greenhouse on the continent, supplying 80% of all violets to US stores and is just minutes from downtown Nashville.

The AVSA convention offers workshops, lectures, and tutorials for members. Presentations range from tips on photography, growing show plants, gesneriads and more. Visitors can expect to see a showroom of award-winning plants, flaunting the endless diversity and eye-catching beauty of the African Violet. The vendor area gives local flower enthusiasts a chance to buy many rare varieties. Prior attendees agree that there's no question of why the African Violet has remained the world's most popular house plant for over 50 years.

Come out for a rare event that will provide 100% more eye candy and natural beauty than anything else this spring.

Event Details:
Sheraton Music City Hotel
777 McGavock Pike Nashville, TN 37214

The show room is open to the public on:
Friday, May 30, 2014 9:00am to 5:00pm
Saturday, May 31, 2014 9:00am to 4:00pm

Note: There is a $5.00 admission charge for people who are not AVSA members. If non-members join AVSA at the door, this fee is waived. For free press passes please go to the registration desk.

About the AVSA
AVSA is the International Cultivar Registration Authority for the genus Saintpaulia and its cultivars. It was organized in 1946, and incorporated on June 30, 1947. Since then it has grown to be the largest society devoted to a single indoor plant in the world. It is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The Society hosts the annual convention and publishes a bi-monthly full-color 64-page magazine, the African Violet Magazine.

About Holtkamp Greenhouses/Optimara
Optimara has roots in African Violet development tracing all the way back to the 1930s. It is the American brand of the world famous Holtkamp greenhouses in Germany, and is still a family-run business. Optimara has been the leading innovator in breeding retail-ready violets which can be shipped while in bloom as well as creating the world's only line of "Space Violets" from seeds which traveled in orbit with NASA for six years.

AVSA's 68th consecutive convention and show will be held May 25 – June 1, 2014, at the Sheraton Music City Hotel in Nashville. Holtkamp Greenhouses, Inc. will be hosting this convention with the assistance of the Lone Star African Violet Council and the Mid Atlantic African Violet Society.