February 20th + 21st 2010 will see the EMKC holding our first ever open show, run under BKKS guidelines.
This show is very unique, in being the ‘UK’s only winter koi show’, maybe even the only one being held at this time of year in Europe !!
A bold decision to hold it at this time of the year, but it all makes sense.
Koi without a doubt look their best at this time of the year, nothing is happening in the UK at this time of year either. So with some serious grey matter being used to overcome the temperature aspect, we decided to go along and give it a bash.
Darren Turner has taken the reigns as show chairman. [Brave or crazy ]
Ok, so the venue is an ‘all in one’ venue, the ‘Bretby conference centre’. (www.bretbycc.co.uk) which is situated just 2 miles from Burton on Trent.
Firstly we have the exhibition hall, that will hold the 38 show vats, this is overlooked by a restaurant / bar that will be serving food all weekend, with a carvery on the Sunday. Attached to the hall is the hotel which has 39 rooms, and then at the side of this is the banqueting suite which can cater for upto 270 guests, this will be used for the dinner dance on the Saturday evening.
We expected the show to attract quite a bit of interest, but nothing like it actually has. The show vats were all snapped up within just 3 days of advertising them. We now also have quite a healthy waiting list for these.[ but feel free to add your name to this by contacting myself at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ] Vats are given out at one per person so folk will only bring their very best koi along. [ I hope]
In addition to the show vats, there will also be many other koi and craft stalls present.
Sponsorship has been amazing, with Richdon-koi leading the way, followed by Evolution Aqua, Kusuri, Oase, Koi magazine, Thermalec and Brunel Microscopes amongst others all supporting this very different event, we thank everyone for their support.
Fund raising started over 18 months ago and finding the right venue was paramount. We looked at quite a few venues, but nothing seemed right. Then out of the blue, we stumbled across Bretby Conference centre, which is actually only 1 ½ miles from where I live, I didn’t even realize it was there!
We did a water test which proved very good, then, we struck up a deal with the owners to hire the whole conference centre, hall, hotel and banqueting suite.
Over the last 12 months members of the EMKC have been going to shows, and noting down the best issues from each show. So from that, we have combined these ideas, and are hoping to put them all together at our show.
One of the ideas that has really gone down well is continuous video screening of koi films and koi pictures around the hall, and maybe even in the bar, wherever you look, you will see Koi.
A question that has been asked a few times is ‘what are you going to do about the water temperatures in the vats’? Well all the water used will be heated to approx 12-14c in the main storage vats before being pumped out to the show vats. Also the room will be heated to approx 18-20c over the whole weekend and before, so hopefully no problems there.
We plan to have a lecture theatre running throughout the weekend as well, and have a very interesting line-up for this already booked, all will be revealed as to who is speaking nearer the show date. The talks will be done to cover all aspects of the koi hobby, and to all levels. On the Sunday, we will have a BKKS judge going round telling us about the koi that has won a ‘champions award’, so we will have the judges eye view of these special first ever championship winning koi.
As mentioned previously, we will be holding a dinner dance on the Saturday evening (Smart dress code for this event please.). The venue boasts a luxurious banqueting suite, and it seemed fitting that we should make the show a full weekend event. The evening will consist of a 3 course meal followed by disco and late bar open till 1am. So some thick heads in the morning !!!
We will also announce all the champions at the dinner dance. So we can celebrate the superb koi winning the first ever awards.
If you buy a ticket for this event, then you will be entered into a ‘free prize draw’ and you will have chance to win quite a special large prize. But don’t forget to bring along your tickets, as ‘no ticket –no prize’ !!! We will also be holding a prize draw raffle, again with some very special prizes donated by the show sponsors.
Tickets for the dinner dance are priced at £30 per person, these can be purchased by contacting Ronnie Barnett at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or phoning 01283 500086. Ronnie will send you menu details and also hotel information. There are plenty of hotels local to Bretby if you need somewhere to stay.
So a busy time ahead for us guys here at the EMKC. There’s plenty of organising to do, but hopefully everything will run smoothly, and it will be nice to see plenty of you guys coming along to enjoy what this Unique New winter show has to offer.
Visit www.emkc.co.uk for up to date news, or click here to download the show poster.
RegardsMartin Barnett [Mushio]
EMKC Chairman
