SAN JOSE — Sunshine, cool music, and elegant fish. What more could a person ask for on a Saturday in San Jose?

The 14th ZNA NorCal National Koi Show kicked off Saturday in South San Jose, with dozens of hobbyists, breeders, and vendors in attendance.

The two-day annual exhibition and competition highlights the special carp that have been bred for centuries into colorful creations.

With over 30 temporary tanks set up in the parking lot of Wyndham Garden Silicon Valley Hotel, visitors Saturday gazed over the top of championship-caliber koi.

Some of the competition fish showcase the most traditional and prized colors in koi, like deep orange, red, black, and iridescent white, layered in among the smooth scales so intricately they resemble marble.

Other koi are one solid shade of bright golden yellow, bronze, pastel salmon, or grayish black.

Ivy Nguyen, 6, at left, and her brother, William Nguyen, 4, along with their grandfather, Chin Van, all of San Jose, check out koi on display at the ZNA NorCal National Koi Show Saturday, April 2, 2022, in San Jose, Calif. (Photo by Jim Gensheimer) 

Dinh Nguyen, the founder of the Zen Nippon Arankai NorCal club, and the event organizer, said the judges of the competition look for quality above all else among the fish, with some competitors bringing their fish in from out of state for the event.

“It’s like a beauty contest,” he said.

Fish are judged on their body shape, as well as things like the size of their heads, shape and strength of their tail fins, and of course, the colorings and patterns.

But while judges spent their afternoon rigorously grading the fish for a trophy banquet set for Saturday evening, other attendees spent time learning and sharing their experiences with keeping and raising koi, helping to grow the hobby, Nguyen said.

Nguyen, who was inspired to build his own koi pond because his father had one growing up in Vietnam, said many people find the fish calming.

“When you go home after a long day’s work, and go to your garden and see your fish, that’s very relaxing. It’s like meditation for me,” Nguyen said.

Many of the visitors, including some from other koi clubs around the state, agreed.

Koi swim in temporary display tanks at the ZNA NorCal National Koi Show Saturday, April 2, 2022, in San Jose, Calif. (Photo by Jim Gensheimer) 

“The Japanese call them living jewels, because they are so bright and colorful. And in the water, it’s like watching a ballet. They’re just incredibly beautiful in their swimming actions,” said Dan Rutledge, 76, of Boulder Creek, the president of the Monterey Bay Koi and Pond Club.

“And they become pets, as well. You can hand feed them. And it’s probably one of the most relaxing things to sit by a pond and watch these fish swim. It takes the stress out of your whole day,” he said.

“You watch after them just like you would a child,” Lyn Pitts, of Rio Linda, and a member of the Camellia Koi Club, said of the fish.

Shannon Skalisky, of Sacramento and the same club as Pitts, said koi are like having big, water-borne puppies.

“My fish, when I open my sliding glass door, they all come over in a giant wake wanting to be fed,” she said.

Travis Woodard, 74, of Fremont, has been keeping koi for about 15 years, but still considers himself a novice.

“I just buy the fish if they look pretty to me,” he said. He already has 17, and might add another to his collection.

“The beauty of them,” is what draws him in, he said, as well as the ponds they live in.

“The serenity of the waterfall, and just raising them and watching them change and grow,” he said.

Pitts, of Rio Linda, said she loves events like these because it’s fun “meeting other koi lovers,” and because of the variety of experience levels and knowledge of the visitors.

“There are beginners competing here, and there are also former champions competing, so you are literally seeing the best of the best here. All different varieties from all over,” she said.

“This brings exposure to people that don’t know anything about it,” she said, “because anybody can have koi.”

The show continues from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday at the Wyndham Garden Silicon Valley Hotel, 399 Silicon Valley Blvd., San Jose. http://znanorcal.info.

Toen Feyen, at left, and Jason Guevara judge koi as Michelle Gravenish acts as recorder at the ZNA NorCal National Koi Show Saturday, April 2, 2022, in San Jose, Calif. The fish are judged on qualities such as body shape, symmetry, size, pattern and how well it represents its variety. (Photo by Jim Gensheimer) 
Emiko Case sets up her vendor booth with fish windsocks and her artwork at the ZNA NorCal National Koi Show Saturday, April 2, 2022, in San Jose, Calif. (Photo by Jim Gensheimer)