CHICOPEE/SPRINGFIELD – On July 13 and 14, the Pioneer Valley Water Garden and Koi Club will host their 26th Annual Pond Tour from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Local residents on the tour will open their gardens and ponds to guests and will be available to discuss their plants, fish and pond maintenance.

Included in this year’s tour are ponds owned by Ted Curtin of Chicopee, Wendy LaFond and Tom Blazejowski of Chicopee, Jan and Bernadette Piepul of Springfield and Susan and Joseph Sarno of Springfield.

“The ponds all belong to members, or friends of members of the Pioneer Valley Water Garden and Koi Club, which has over 60 members. We rotate showing our ponds so that no one repeats year after year and people who have new additions to the pond can be featured,” Suzanne Kelley, publicity chair of the Pioneer Valley Water Garden and Koi Club, explained.

Kelley continued, “It is quite a commitment to agree to show your pond. You must get it ready and beautiful for mid-July and commit to stay home the entire weekend with over 100 families coming to your backyard. You also serve free refreshments.”

In a press release, Kelley described some of the local ponds that can be viewed on the tour. “One featured pond in Chicopee is owned by Tim Curtin who has a professionally-built pond, a large gazebo and a raised train track with running trains. Another Chicopee pond, owned by Wendy LaFond and Tom Blazejowski, has a waterfall at one end and a small footbridge. One featured pond in Springfield is owned by Jan and Bernadette Piepul. It is a professionally built pond surrounded by plantings to encourage butterflies, birds and hummingbirds. Also on the tour in Springfield is a pond owned by Susan and Joseph Sarno. They have one pond and several other water features in a yard of gardens, trees, shrubs and perennials,” Kelley described.

Kelley told Reminder Publishing what guests of the pond tour can expect to see. “Viewers will see beautifully landscaped yards, water plants like water lilies and water hyacinths, patios, pergolas and other outside structures and all kinds of fish from simple goldfish to magnificent koi that are three feet long and thirty years old,” Kelley said.

Although her home will not be included in the 2019 pond tour, Kelley explained that participating in the past was enjoyable. “Although my pond is not on the tour this year, my husband and I have been on the tour two times in the last 10 years. It is so enjoyable to meet the visitors, to see and hear their admiration for our pond and to answer their questions about how we maintain the pond and keep the fish alive,” Kelley said.

Kelley continued, “Sometimes guests like us and our pond so much that they volunteer to give us additions to our pond. One couple, not in the club, had koi too large for their pond and brought us two beautiful fish a week later. Another woman had some ferns that she thought would look nice at the top of my stream and dropped them off the next day. We also recruit new club members who didn’t know about the Pioneer Valley Water Garden and Koi Club.”

Kelley said she recommends that the community come together to observe the tour. “In this day and age when people think that entertainment means only overly stimulating activities, it is very relaxing to drive around at [the viewer’s] leisure and look at gardens and ponds. Sporting events, casinos, crowded beaches and loud concerts are not the only ways to have fun. Visitors meet very nice people who have gorgeous ponds and they get to drive to areas of Western Mass that they may never otherwise see,” Kelley said.

Tickets cost $20 per car or family and can be purchased at the following local places: Dave’s Soda and Pet City (151 Springfield St., Agawam,) FitChics Unleashed (711 James St., Chicopee,) Graziano Gardens (280 Elm St., East Longmeadow,) McKinstry’s Market Garden (753 Montgomery St., Chicopee,) Ondrick Natural Earth (729 Fuller Road, Chicopee) and Sixteen Acres Garden Center (1359 Wilbraham Road, Springfield.) Tickets are not sold at the homes of individuals participating in the tour. A booklet of addresses and pond descriptions will be provided at the time of purchase.