5198 Arlington
Avenue # 146 , Riverside, CA
92504
5198 Arlington
Avenue # 146 , Riverside, CA
92504
Dear Friend….
Greetings from the Inland
Koi Society!
We understand you’ve been
thinking about membership in the Inland Koi Society, and thought you might like
to know a bit more about us first. IKS is a very active and outgoing group and
we hope that members find not only helpful information about keeping their ponds
and fish healthy, but also a host of new friends among us. You should know
though, that not all of us have ponds yet: some have joined to learn from
others’ mistakes before they make their own! But let us tell you a little
about what the Inland Koi Society does and how our club works…..
Membership includes the
family and all may attend meetings, yes even the children if you like. We meet
monthly on the fourth Sunday normally from 2 to 5 PM for a potluck lunch and a
program at a member’s home. Weather is generally in our favor for outdoor
meetings but when it’s not we make other arrangements. A club newsletter, the
Inland Koi Connection, comes out mid-month with a map and details about the
upcoming meeting and we post a few “KOI” signs in the neighborhood so we can
find the right house. Everyone brings a beach or folding chairs so the hosts are
not burdened with trying to seat us all. In the first half hour as people arrive
and check in, there’s time to check out the hosts’ pond, talk with them
about their filtration system, problems, etc and basically get to know other
members.
Lunch is a buffet style
potluck. The club provides paper goods and beverages. We usually have a guest
speaker and there’s always time for questions and answers. Topics of course
focus on our ponds. Before we close the meeting we have a raffle. The club
provides some of the prizes, members and sponsors donate others and they usually
pond related like fish foods, plants, art work, and gift items. We have some
breeder/dealers in our club so occasionally a fish is donated too. Tickets are
sold for $1 each or 6 for $5 folks buy what they will. The income covers the
cost of the meeting.
Occasionally we take to the
road to visit another club, tour a breeder’s facility, or go to a KOI show. We
have had six very successful Pond Garden Tours with over 600 people in
attendance each time. We have an extensive library of resource books and videos
on all aspects of KOI ponds and water gardens for our members use. Additionally
we have people who are readily available to help when questions or problems
arise.
New members receive a name
badge and a copy of KOI Keeping 101, a basic primer for pond owners.
Hopefully they find a lot of new information in it. Name badges are ordered as
soon as someone joins and are usually available at the next meeting. Most
members subscribe to KOI USA but it takes a couple of months to receive
your first issue as it is published bi-monthly. KOI USA is an excellent full
colored hobbyists magazine perhaps the best outside of Japan and is published by
our parent club, the Associated KOI Clubs of America (AKCA).
Feel free to visit one of
our meetings before you make your decision. You can E-mail any of the board
members or check the calendar on this website for the location. Then if you
decide to join we hope you’ll take an active interest in the group. We all
have so much to learn about these friendly KOI and as we share our experiences
with others our own enjoyment increases.