General Show Rules and Regulations

Construction and excavation

Whilst exhibits at EIFS are treated as ‘temporary structures’, it is essential that they are built in an exacting and safe fashion.

It may be necessary that some exhibits where building and construction is undertaken may require a Building Permit. Exhibitors are required to check with the Christchurch City Council Building Inspector (whose contact details will be provided by the Exhibition Manager) and obtain the necessary permits prior to commencing build-up. Discuss with the Exhibition Manager in the first instance.

· The excavation of sites is not permitted. All exhibits will need to build-up rather than excavate down, other than 400mm for footings and post holes, which must be returned to the original state after the Show.

· Exhibitors who exceed the 400mm depth will be required to backfill the exceeded measurement before being allowed to continue with the build-up of the exhibit.

· All power and water cables are clearly identified. If you uncover wiring or piping stop immediately and report the incident to the Site Office.

Maintenance and Protection of Site and Exhibit

· Sites and exhibits must be maintained to a high standard at all times.

· Materials such as gravel, shingle, stones, pebbles, shells, chippings (for example polystyrene, granite, glass, concrete etc) or any material likely to pollute or damage the ground or harm wildlife must not be placed directly on the ground. Any such material must be placed on a thick, strong ground protection barrier film or cloth to protect the ground and to enable complete removal of the material during breakdown.A lining should be provided for each footing hole.

· Exhibitors must take care of the immediate surroundings of their site and exhibit. Do not leave products lying for any length of time in one area of grass so that the grass beneath dies. Loose screws, nails etc need to be collected and removed.

· Conditions can be very warm and dusty. Daily maintenance and care of components (including plant material) is an essential part of exhibiting. Replacing plant and floral material throughout the period of the Show is permitted, indeed expected. It is critical to ensure all plants are ordered in the earliest stages and their growth is checked personally throughout the year to ensure they are of appropriate size and maturity to suit your design at Show time.

· Watering and maintenance of sites and exhibits can only be performed outside Show open hours. Sites will be accessible for this purpose from 7am - 9am and after Show closing.

· Please be aware that no maintenance of exhibits can take place between: 12 noon on Monday 5 March and 12 noon Tuesday 6 March.

Height of Structures, Walls and Fences

· Site dimensions for each category are set out in Specific Category Rules section. Please note that all site dimensions are written as frontage x depth.

· Whilst planning displays, exhibitors should take the following into account:

§ The exterior walls or fences of exterior exhibits must not exceed 180 cm in height.

§ Internal walls or features may exceed 180cm but the height needs to be approved by the Exhibition Manager

§ Exhibitors must build within their site confines, including walls and fences.

· It is recommended that exhibitors contact neighbouring exhibitors with whom they share a common boundary to agree the height, style and finish of dividing walls or fences, buildings and any other items of mutual interest. Exhibitors will be provided, at the earliest opportunity once sites are confirmed, with the contact details of the exhibitors of the neighbouring sites.

· In the event of a dispute with neighbouring exhibitors, exhibitors should contact the Exhibition Manager.

Pools and water features

· All exhibits that include a water feature must be constructed appropriately and tested prior to the opening of the Show.

· Exhibitors are responsible for any leakages which may occur. Any water features found to be leaking during the Show will require immediate draining in consultation with EIFS Management, and repaired outside of Show open hours.

· Pools and water features must always be emptied mechanically.

· Under no circumstances should pools or water features be drained onto the surrounding ground or roadways.

· Arrangements for disposal of the water - at the cost of the exhibitor - must be made with the Exhibition or Operations Manager.

Lighting

· Standard overhead marquee lighting is provided within the Hort Galore Marquee and the Floral Art Marquee Categories.

· The material of the marquees gives a yellowing effect to exhibits. Exhibitors in the Hort Galore Marquee and Floral Art Marquee Categories may overcome this by the use of constructive lighting.

· Whilst the lighting of exhibits is not a requirement of exhibiting at EIFS, any exhibit is eligible for the Supreme Award for Lighting.

· Any lighting must be installed according to the guidelines of the manufacturer and managed appropriately during the Show public opening hours.

· Spotlights must be directed at items within the display and should not be directed externally.

Electricity

· A 10 amp power supply will be provided to each site.

· All electricity supplies will be placed as close as possible to the back right corner of the site (when viewed from the road frontage).

· Alternative placement can be arranged directly with the Show’s electrical contractor at the exhibitor’s cost.

· Exhibitors requiring additional power supply should speak directly with the electrical contractor, and additional power will be supplied at the cost of the exhibitor.

· Any exhibitor requiring wiring should make sure that it is installed and tested by a suitably qualified electrician.

Water

· There will be a water supply in close proximity to all sites. Water is available at all times from standpipes throughout the site and in each marquee.

· Exhibitors must provide their own hoses and connectors or buckets with which to transport water to their sites, ensuring all items are named. Please ensure hoses and connections are leak free and disconnect when not in use.

Health and Safety

· Rules and obligations concerning health and safety are contained in The Health and Safety Guide which will be distributed closer to the show.

· Exhibitors will be obligated to sign the Health and Safety Form and present it to the Site or Exhibitor Office upon arrival on the show site for the first time. At this time the Exhibition or Operations Manager will show you to your site.

Build-up

· Exhibitors will have access to their sites from and until the dates and times set out in the Key Dates section. No exhibitor may commence build-up until they have signed in at Exhibitor Services.

· Exhibitors may view their sites prior to build-up - please contact the Exhibition Manager to arrange.

· Final set-up is to be complete by the date and time set out in the Key Dates section. All tools and materials used in construction must be removed from the site by final set-up.

· Other than Floral Art all Horticultural Exhibitors are to down tools and leave site immediately at 12 noon on Monday 5 March 2012.

· Floral Art Exhibitors are to down tools and leave site immediately at 2pm on Monday 5March 2012.

Labelling of plants and information leaflets

· It is a requirement that all exhibitors in the Hort Galore Marquee must label plants. Please refer to the Specific Category Rules section for further information.

· Exhibitors in the other categories are not required to label plants, however it is recommended that plants and display information be made available to visitors either by way of appropriate labelling or by providing a leaflet containing information relevant to the exhibit which should be available to visitors throughout the open days of the Show.

· EIFS Management reserves the right to remove or request that exhibitors desist from distributing information which EIFS Management consider [in their reasonable opinion] to be unsuitable or not in keeping with the EIFS event. This may be done without notice if efforts to contact the exhibitor have failed.

· All labels must be tasteful and in harmony with the exhibit as a whole. The recommended background colours for plant labels are black, green or other dull or muted colours – white plant labels tend to spoil photographs and television pictures. Bright and day-glow colours are not permitted.

· The precise size of plant name labels is left to the exhibitor’s discretion. The labels should be large enough to be legible without being obtrusive.

· Plant name labels must be in place before judging takes place.

· As an alternative to labelling individual plants, Exhibitors may consider using information board(s) or leaflets, on which a planting plan of the exhibit could be used to illustrate the planting plan.

· EIFS Management reserves the right to remove inappropriate labelling. This may be done without notice if efforts to contact the exhibitor have failed.

Approved Materials

· All materials used must be fire resistant. Approved materials include wool, sail cloth, nylon taffeta, flame treated cottons, thick panel plastic.

Items not allowed

· Materials exuding a foul, unpleasant or offensive odour (including spray paints, aerosols and fibres).

· Nothing which, in the opinion of EIFS Management, detracts from the presentation of the plants or products on display, or from the general appearance of the Show.

· Any item which is not fire resistant.

· Any item which is hazardous or likely to present a health or fire risk.

Items requiring special permission

The following items may only be exhibited or used within an exhibit with the special permission of the Exhibition Manager:

Straw, hay
Polystyrene
Fruit or flowers artificially attached to a plant or spray
Live animals of any kind
Music/sound effects
Videos, dvd’s, slides, audio and film

Animals

All animals are strictly forbidden at the Show site at all times, with the exception of guide and hearing dogs.

Children

Children under 16 years of age are not allowed on to the Show site during the build-up, [restocking] and breakdown periods.

Sell-off

· There is a specified amount of time for sell-off at the Show when exhibitors may sell plants and products from their displays. The Show sell-off will take place on the time and date set out in the Key Dates section. Sell-off must cease at the close of the Show set out in the Key Dates section.

· Sold items may be removed from the site once the sell-off has commenced. Larger items may be reserved (at the risk of the Exhibitor) prior to the sell-off taking place. The rest of the exhibit must not be dismantled until sell-off ceases.

Breakdown

· Exhibitors must consider how they will effectively manage and staff the breakdown of the site at the conclusion of the Show. Exhibitors must remove from the site everything that was brought in including any rubbish.

· Exhibitors must not breakdown their sites before sell-off ceases.

· Breakdown of sites is not permitted until the date and time set out in the Key Dates section. Any exhibitor breaking their site down before this date and time will seriously jeopardize any future applications for a site at EIFS.

· Breakdown finishes at the date and time set out in the Key Date section, and security will be on site till then.

· On the final day of the Show, after the Show closes, exhibitors are strongly advised to clear their sites and remove their property from the Show site. Where valuable goods are left on site overnight, Exhibitors are recommended to engage the services of a security guard.

Reinstatement and Site Clearance

· At the conclusion of the Show, all sites must be left in the state that they were presented, in terms of contour, level and composition. That is to say, if turf has been removed and other material added, this additional material is to be removed and the soil replaced and contoured to a “ready to seed” condition.

· For ease of site reinstatement a membrane (such as weed matting) should be over the entire exhibit site.

· The full cost of any re-instatement work or clearance of an exhibit - to an acceptable standard - that EIFS Management has to conduct on behalf of an Exhibitor will be invoiced in full to the exhibitor responsible at the rate of $250 per hour.

· All exhibitors are required to obtain site clearance from the Operations or Exhibition Manager before final departure from the Show site.