GARDENA — Zen Nippon Arinkai USA announces its 1st ZNA USA Western District Koi Show slated for Saturday and Sunday, March 18 and 19, at the Gardena Civic Center, 1700 W. 162nd St., Gardena. The event is free and open to the public.
Although the ZNA Southern California chapter has sponsored this annual event for 46 years, this is the first year that the event is sponsored by the entire Western District of ZNA.
On Saturday, the event opens at 10 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. Yuujou Daiko will open the program. On Sunday, the hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Koi Show features entertainment and vendors with koi and pond products, but the highlight of the show is the premier koi that are exhibited and are part of the judging by four certified judges from Japan and the U.S. The judging will take place on Saturday.
The grand champion koi and other awards will be announced at a banquet on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the Gardena Civic Center. Tickets for the Mediterranean buffet, $45 per person, are available. Contact information is below.
On Sunday, a koi talk will take place from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. with the judges providing commentaries, and a koi auction will be held at 12:30 p.m.
The event is co-sponsored by the City of Gardena, Hikari, and ZNA USA.
For more information, contact ZNA Southern California Chapter President Alan Stein at alandds@earthlink.net or Vice President Chai Taevanitcharoen at tatekoi@aol.com.