The 2016 Pond Tour was a success with over 450 guests touring the 10 ponds. There was something for everyone: little ponds, larger ponds, natural ponds, and two ponds that used water from the home sump pump to create a flow-through system where no filtration was needed.
Then there were beautiful perennial gardens for those that had sun as well as a pond. The hydrangeas were in full bloom as well as clematis, monarda, lilies, begonias, and petunias.

Some ponds featured shade gardens with hostas, ferns, coleus, and caladium.
But what most came to see, since it was a koi pond tour, were the koi. Kohaku, Sanke, Showa, Matsaba, Yamabuki Ogon, Kujaku, Ochiba, and Chagoi were some of the varieties featured.

Many of the guests were interested in the design of the ponds and the filtering system since they either had a pond or were considering building one.
The most important volunteers to thank are the 10 homeowners who graciously opened up their yards for touring. Then there were the club members, led by Bruce Modetz, who served as tour guides or affectionately called Koi Cops.

The Village Workshop in Northville was an excellent venue as a home base and we thank them.
Some have asked what do we do with the profit made from the Pond Tour. The money is spent on educational events when the Michigan Koi and Pond Club brings in guest speakers. In addition, the money helps fund the August event: the 2016 Koi Show.

Mike Conrad
John Rae

What can I say? It’s just not enough to say “thank you” to each and every one of you that worked this year’s Pond Tour. While John Rae and Mike Conrad did an excellent job in procuring the homes on the tour, a tour cannot happen without hard working individuals like you.

The starting point, Village Workshop, was an excellent place to sell tickets from. Though we thought the parking would be an issue, it ended up moving very smoothly. We had individuals directing traffic outside, greeters inside the building to complete registration cards, to ticket sales and koi store. The Koi Kops at the various homes handled their assignments flawlessly.

Give yourself a pat on the back for a job WELL DONE!

Thank you,

Bruce