2008 Carolina Bonsai Expo
Saturday, October 11, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Sunday, October 12, 12:00 Noon to 4:00 PM

At The North Carolina Arboretum, Asheville, NC

The premier annual bonsai show in the Southeast is now in its 13^th successful year! The Expo features juried exhibits by bonsai enthusiasts from a 6-state region.

The 2-day event also features:

• An extensive display of ikebana flower arrangements
• Free bonsai and ikebana demonstrations
• A special presentation by visionary bonsai artist Peter D. Adams
• A comprehensive bonsai marketplace featuring tools, books, pots and plants
• Bonsai workshops
• A live auction of bonsai plants and related materials
• On-site food service

All in the setting of a fantastic public garden nestled in the heart of the Southern Appalachians, surrounded by the splendors of the autumn season!

(Normal parking fees apply; Free to NC Arboretum Society Members)  

Schedule of Events:

Saturday, October 11

9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Arboretum’s bonsai on display in the Bonsai Exhibition Garden; main bonsai exhibit open in the Education Center, 1^st floor; ikebana exhibit open in the Education Center, 2^nd floor; vendors market open in the Baker Exhibit Center, 1^st and 2^nd floors; food service available in the Education Center, 1^st floor

9:00 a.m. to Noon – Bonsai Refinement Workshop with 2008 Expo guest artist Peter D. Adams, at the Greenhouse (pre-registration required, fee charged for this program)

11:00 a.m. to Noon – free ikebana demonstration, “The Silent Beauty of Ikebana” flower arranging by Emiko Nishiwaki, professor of Ikenobo School of Ikebana, in the classrooms of the Education Center, 1^st floor

1:00 to 4:00 p.m. – Raft-style Bonsai Workshop with Randy Clark of the Bonsai Learning Center, at the Greenhouse (pre-registration required, fee charged for this program)

2:00 to 4:00 p.m. – free bonsai demonstration, “Mix and Match and Make It Work” tray landscape demonstration, by Arboretum Bonsai Curator Arthur Joura, with Ken Duncan and John Geanangel of the Bonsai Club of South Carolina, in the classrooms of the Education Center, 1^st floor

6:30 to 9:00 p.m. – main event lecture and demonstration program by guest artist Peter D. Adams, in the classrooms of the Education Center, 1^st floor, “Framing The Bonsai To Tell A Story (as compared to just sitting there like a lump)” (pre-registration required, fee charged for this program)

Sunday, October 12

9:00 a.m. to Noon – Beginners Tropical Bonsai Workshop with Jim Doyle of Nature’s Way Nursery, at the Greenhouse (pre-registration required, fee charged for this program)

Noon to 4:00 p.m. - Arboretum’s bonsai on display in the Bonsai Exhibition Garden; main bonsai exhibit open in the Education Center, 1^st floor; ikebana exhibit open in the Education Center, 2^nd floor; vendors market open in the Baker Exhibit Center, 1^st and 2^nd floors; food service available in the Education Center, 1^st floor

1:00 to 2:30 p.m. – free bonsai demonstration, "The Art of Bunjin Bonsai" by Harold Johnson, of the Triangle Bonsai Society, in the classrooms of the Education Center, 1^st floor

2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. – Bonsai Refinement Workshop with 2008 Expo guest artist Peter D. Adams, at the Greenhouse (pre-registration required, fee charged for this program)

Bonsai Displays

14 bonsai organizations from a 6-state region provide displays that are exhibited in the auditorium of the Education Center, on the 1^st floor. Each club is given 16 linear feet in which to construct their own display of bonsai owned by their members. Emphasis is placed on the beauty of the plants, and the design and creativity of the display. Each year the Expo guest artist selects a single bonsai and one group display to be awarded “Best In Show”. Other awards are given, including the “People’s Choice” award, based on voting done by visitors to the show.

The following bonsai organizations will be represented at the 2008 Carolina Bonsai Expo:

  North Carolina

Blue Ridge Bonsai Club, Asheville
Bonsai Society of the Carolinas, Charlotte
Cape Fear Bonsai Society, Wilmington
Piedmont N.C. Bonsai Association, Winston-Salem
Triangle Bonsai Society, Raleigh

South Carolina

Onkochishin Bonsai Society, Florence
RMBB Study Group, Columbia
Upstate SC Bonsai Study Group, Greenville

Virginia

Hinoki Bonsai Club, Roanoke

Tennessee

Knoxville Bonsai Society, Knoxville
Mid-Appalachian Bonsai Kai, Johnson City
Nashville Bonsai Society, Nashville

Georgia

Atlanta Bonsai Society, Atlanta

Pennsylvania

Ikebana Display

The Asheville Chapter of Ikebana International celebrates its 7^th year of collaboration with the Carolina Bonsai Expo, with an exhibit entitled “Silent Beauty”. The ikebana displays are inspired by and coordinated with the “Silent Beauty” nature photography exhibit on the 2^nd floor of the Education Center. Beautiful artistic flower arrangements will be located in the library, as well as in the balcony and lobby areas. Ikebana club members will be available throughout the weekend to answer questions about the arrangements and Ikebana International.

2008 Carolina Bonsai Expo Bonsai Marketplace

Featuring the Following Vendors:

Bonsai by Kazan, Weaverville, NC

Bonsai Learning Center, Charlotte, NC

Campbell’s Greenhouse, Charlotte, NC

Cbi, Inc., Cantonment, FL

Matsu Momiji Nursery, Fuquay-Varina, NC

Meco Bonsai, Lancaster, PA

Meehan’s Miniatures, Rohrersville, MD

Nature's Way Nursery, Harrisburg, PA

Osiga Company, Ellicott City, MD

Richard Boggs Potter, Winston-Salem, NC

Tall Pines Bonsai, Columbia, SC

2008 CAROLINA BONSAI EXPO MAIN EVENT

“FRAMING THE BONSAI TO TELL A STORY (as compared to just sitting there like a lump)”

Saturday, October 12^th, 6:30 PM to 9:00 PM

Internationally recognized bonsai authority and 2008 Carolina Bonsai Expo guest maven Peter D. Adams conducts a free wheeling lesson in bonsai artistry.

The adage has it that “every picture tells a story”. So too, should every bonsai speak to the viewer and captivate interest with a compelling tale. Bonsai is described as living art, yet what elevates a miniature tree in a decorative pot to the status of a work of art, and how do we use this horticultural medium to communicate? In this program, Mr. Adams will analyze live on stage several trees from the Arboretum’s bonsai holdings and evaluate their merits as vehicles of creative expression. He will then prescribe the work to be done in each case, and then some of that work will be performed. Which trees? What work? How will it happen? Make plans to attend this most unusual bonsai demonstration and find out.

Peter Adams is widely known and highly regarded in bonsai circles. As a young man he trained in fine art at the Royal Academy of Arts in England, the country of his birth. Early on he established himself as the leading British bonsai authority, winning Gold Medals for his work at the venerable Chelsea Flower Show. His bonsai are in the British National Collection. He is perhaps best known as an author and his numerous books on bonsai set the standard for intelligent, artistically insightful treatment of the subject. Mr. Adams now resides in Washington State and travels extensively in the U.S. as a teacher. Peter Adams was the guest artist for the 2nd Carolina Bonsai Expo in 1997; his return this year marks the first time anyone has been Expo guest artist more than once.

The cost of this program is $10 for Arboretum members and $13 for non-members, and the 100 available spaces will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Reservations can be made by phone ((828) 665-2492) or in person at the Arboretum; sorry, but no reservations may be made via the Internet. Reservations must be secured by payment, either by credit card at the time of registration or by personal check received within 5 working days of the time of registration.

2008 CAROLINA BONSAI EXPO WORKSHOPS

Dates and times have been announced for two workshops to be conducted in conjunction with the 2008 Carolina Bonsai Expo.

These educational programs will take place in the comfort of the Arboretum’s Greenhouse Support Facility, and will be open only to participants – no “observer” positions are available.

Saturday, October 11, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Randy Clark of The Bonsai Learning Center in Charlotte, NC will conduct a workshop program on “raft style” bonsai.

Mr. Clark is an internationally recognized bonsai authority, whose lively spirit and animated style make him a popular teacher. In this workshop he will lead students in the creation of a raft style bonsai – in which a single tree is laid on its side and the individual branches are trained up to become separate trees. The plant material for the workshop is multi-trunked Shimpaku Junipers, hand selected by Mr. Clark from his nursery for this purpose. The cost of the class includes the tree, a mica bonsai container, soil and rooting stimulant. This workshop is open to students at all skill levels.

Class size will be limited to only 10 (ten) participants in order to maximize the one-on-one time with this excellent and popular instructor, insuring an intimate learning experience. Participants must provide their own tools and aluminum wire in the following gauges: 3.5 mm, 4.0 mm, 4.5 mm (about 6 to 8 feet of each.) Mr. Clark will have wire available for purchase at the workshop for those who need it.

The cost of this workshop is $100 for Arboretum members and $105 for non-members, and the 10 available spaces will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Reservations can be made by phone ((828) 665-2492) or in person at the Arboretum; sorry, but no reservations may be made via the Internet. Reservations must be secured by payment, either by credit card at the time of registration or by personal check received within 5 working days of the time of registration.

Reservations will be taken beginning at 9:00 AM on Monday, September 22. No reservations will be accepted prior to that time.

Sunday, October 12, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

  Bonsai artist Jim Doyle will conduct a tropical bonsai workshop for beginner level bonsai students.

Mr. Doyle is the proprietor of Nature’s Way Nursery in Harrisburg, PA. He is well known for his horticultural and artistic skills, as well as his warmth and good humor. In this workshop students will work on Chinese banyan (Ficus retusa), an easy growing plant that does well indoors. The trees have “S”- curved trunks that are ¾ to 1” in diameter. The class also includes a ceramic bonsai pot, soil, wire and instruction sheet about care and maintenance of the new bonsai.

Class size will be limited to only 10 (ten) participants in order to maximize the one-on-one time with this excellent and popular instructor, insuring an intimate learning experience. Participants may bring their own tools if they have them; otherwise basic bonsai tools will be made available for use in this class.

The cost of this workshop is $70 for Arboretum members and $75 for non-members, and the 10 available spaces will be sold on a first come, first served basis. Reservations can be made by phone ((828) 665-2492) or in person at the Arboretum; sorry, but no reservations may be made via the Internet. Reservations must be secured by payment, either by credit card at the time of registration or by personal check received within 5 working days of the time of registration.

Reservations will be taken beginning at 9:00 AM on Monday, September 22. No reservations will be accepted prior to that time.

2008 CAROLINA BONSAI EXPO
FREE LECTURES AND DEMONSTRATIONS

(All programs listed take place in the classrooms on the 1^st floor of the Education Center)

Saturday, October 11^th:

11:00 AM to 12:00 PM – “The Silent Beauty of Ikebana” flower arranging demonstration by Emiko Nishiwaki, professor second grade of Ikenobo School of Ikebana, headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. Ms. Nishiwaki was born and raised in Japan, and taught ikebana there for 13 years before moving to North Carolina in 2007. She has been working as a Japan Outreach Coordinator at Western Carolina University since August 2007.  Although Ms. Nishiwaki has received extensive formal training, her ikebana style is unique and she is known for sometimes using unusual containers in her arrangements. The Arboretum is proud to feature Ms. Nishiwaki’s presentation, and the work she creates will be on display in the upstairs lobby for the remainder of the Expo weekend.

2:00 to 4:00 PM – “Mix and Match and Make It Work” tray landscape demonstration by NC Arboretum Bonsai Curator Arthur Joura, with Ken Duncan and John Geanangel of the RMBB Study Group of South Carolina. Tray landscapes are miniature scenes, created with multiple plants and stones. Coming up with a pleasing arrangement for these multiple components is challenging enough, but when the added dimension of using different species of plants within the same planting is thrown into the mix, it really starts to get interesting. Add to that the aggravating factor of three head-strong bonsai guys with their own ideas of what looks good, trying to work together on the very same planting, and there’s no telling what kind of chaos is likely to ensue. Nobody knows for sure what to expect when John, Ken and Arthur take the stage together, least of all the three of them, but it’s never dull.  Come early to secure your seat for this lively, entertaining and totally unpredictable presentation.

Sunday, October 12^th: