This was a great picnic!
On Sunday, June 25th, we held our annual picnic at Cantigny Park. We counted the number of participants at the picnic ranging from 32-35 at various times. If you missed it, you missed a great time!
The food was delicious, with various members bring a wide variety of dishes to stimulate our taste buds. We had many trees on display for the public to view and Char Field set up her display showing various types of trees and discussing many of the basics of bonsai. Thanks to Char for the informative display!
Several people brought trees to work on. Jim Beck was in great demand to make suggestions and discuss technique to take a tree to the next level. I have a Japanese Elm that I worked on, which I purchased from BC Bonsai a little more than two years ago, and it actually is beginning to look like a bonsai. I added some rebar to move some heavier branches once I got home, something I had not tried before.
Larry Magee helped with some people’s trees and styled our demo tree at the end of the afternoon, along with the help of Matt Mazza. That tree will be part of the raffle at the July General Membership meeting, and we already sold many tickets at the picnic to people hoping to win that tree.
The only disappointment was in the number of passersby that we could introduce to the art of bonsai. Cantigny Park increased their admission fee on the weekend to $30 per car and it certainly looked as if that reduced the number of picnickers at the adjacent tables. We had many more visitors stopping by our picnic at the same pavilion in 2021.
Congratulations and thanks to Nick DiBattista for organizing a very successful special event for the PSBS members. We hope to make reservations for the same spot and the same weekend after Father’s Day for 2024.
July is the month to plan for the Destination Asia Festival
Our biggest event of the year, our Bonsai Show at the Morton Arboretum Destination Asia Festival, is scheduled for August 4 thru 6, 2023.
During July, identify a tree or two that you would like to show to the visitors at the Festival. It may be a tree which has already been refined. It may be a tree that has that obvious certain something to catch your eye, but not quite as refined as you want, and more appropriate for the ‘Trees in Training” tables. Find an accent plant to display. We have a limited supply of stands for trees, if you do not have one.
Plan to take a workshop. The Arboretum has listed some of the workshops for enrollment. Examples include:
- Dwarf Jade (Portulacaria) on Saturday, August 5 from 9:00 AM to Noon
- Itoigawa Shimpaku Juniper on Saturday, August 5 from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM
- Kusamono on Sunday, August 6 from 9:00 AM to Noon
- Trident Maples on Sunday, August 6 from Noon to 3:00 PM
There is a discount for Arboretum members which can be obtained via online registration. PSBS members can also receive a discount, but need to register by telephone.
Plan to attend the Festival and volunteer to work a shift or two, greeting visitors, signing up potential new members, and sharing your knowledge and love of bonsai with our visitors. Remember that if you are already in bonsai, you likely know the answers to most of the questions our visitors will ask. It is always great fun!
Plan to attend one or more of the demonstrations. We expect to present four demonstrations, one each at 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM on Saturday and Sunday in the courtyard across from the Sycamore Room where the show is located.
Questions or ready to volunteer? Please call our Special Events Director Nick DiBattista at 630-479-2112. Nick will have a sign-up sheet available at the July General Membership meeting.
July General Membership Meeting
And don’t forget that the General Membership meeting in July has been pushed back a week to the second Wednesday of the month, July 12th, at College of DuPage due to the Fourth of July holiday.
We hope to see you at the General Membership meeting!
Craig
