2024 San Francisco Succulent Expo, June 14-16

What are you doing on June 14–16? If you’re in the Bay Area that weekend, make plans to visit the 2024 San Francisco Succulent Expo. This event at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park celebrates the 40th anniversary of the San Francisco Succulent & Cactus Society (SFSCS). It’s a rebranding of the club’s traditional June Show & Sale. The new name is meant to evoke the great World’s Fairs held in San Francisco in the past, like the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in 1915 and the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939–1940.

The 2024 San Francisco Succulent Expo, which is free and open to the public, promises to be bigger and better than any previous SFSCS Show & Sale. Exceptional specimens of succulents and cacti will be on display in the “Nicely Grown!” show. Notable experts like Walker Young, Steven Hammer, and Kelly Griffin will give hands-on demonstrations and presentations. And of course there will be vendors selling plants and pottery – more than 40 vendors, a new record.

For complete information, visit the Succulent Expo web page here.

Walker Young, Steven Hammer, Kelly Griffin

Special programs:

• Saturday, June 15 at 11 am: Judges Table Talk with the show chair and judges announcing the winners of the “Nicely Grown!” show and highlighting some of the best plants.
• Saturday, June 15 at 1 pm: Propagation and Potting Demonstration by Walker Young, Assistant Curator at the Ruth Bancroft Garden.
• Sunday, June 16 at 11 am: A Gallimaufry of Non-Sphaeroid Mesembs, a presentation by world-renowned mesemb expert Steven Hammer. (Steven likes obscure words like “gallimaufry.” I had to look it up, too.)
• Sunday June 16 at 1:30 pm: Dudleya: Intriguing Species, Beautiful Examples, and a New Book, a presentation by Kelly Griffin, well-known grower and hybridizer. Kelly will also sell and sign the brand-new book Dudleyas, which he co-authored with Jeff Moore (Solana Succulents) and Jeremy Spath (Hidden Agave).

Vendors:

40+ vendors from all over California will sell plants (succulents, cacti, and bromeliads) and pottery. This promises to be one of the largest group of succulent and cactus vendors ever assembled in one place – a unique opportunity to find that special plant you’ve been looking for. There’ll be a plant hotel so you can park your plants while you check out the show, and more registers than in previous years to speed up the checkout process.

For a complete list of vendors, go to the SFSCS website.

Hours:

• Saturday, June 15: 10 am – 5 pm
• Sunday, June 16: 9 am – 5 pm

SFSCS members have early access:

• Friday, June 14: 3 pm – 7 pm
• Saturday, June 16: 9 am – 10 am

Membership is only $15 a year (or $25 for a household). You can join here.

Location:

Like the monthly SFSCS meetings, the Succulent Expo will be at the San Francisco County Fair Building in Golden Gate Park. San Francisco being what it is, it’s advisable to use public transportation (either the 7 or 44 bus, or the N Judah, which connects to BART in downtown SF).

If you prefer to drive, please be aware that the only parking near the County Fair Building is on city and park streets. Parking restrictions are strictly enforced; at a previous event, I saw several cars getting ticketed and one towed. More info on the SFSCS website.

Volunteers needed:

Running an event this big requires an army of volunteers. While many SFSCS members have already stepped up, several Saturday and Sunday slots are still open. If you can, please think about volunteering for one or several two-hour shifts. To see which jobs still need to be filled (and to sign up) go to SignUpGenius.

Volunteers receive $10 in Showbucks (credit to be used at the sale) per two-hour shift on Saturday and Sunday. In addition, volunteers get VIP access on the day of their shift – no waiting in line. And they get to socialize with other members, vendors, and the public while they work.

Check out Justin Thiel’s table (Succulent Addict)

I’ll be there on Friday and Saturday, so maybe I’ll run into some of you. I’ve signed up for a couple of shifts and will otherwise help out at the table of my frequent partner-in-crime Justin Thiel (Succulent Addict). He’ll be selling cacti, aloes, mesembs, and even some mangaves he created himself.

© Gerhard Bock, 2024. All rights reserved. To receive all new posts by email, please subscribe here.