Bonsai is celebrated across the Chicago metropolitan area during the month of August!
Each year in August, we enjoy some of the most important and exciting weekends for Chicago area bonsai enthusiasts. Our event is held this year on August 5, 6, and 7 at Morton Arboretum, as the Prairie State Bonsai Society presents our bonsai show, workshops, and demonstrations as participants in the Arboretum’s Destination Asia Festival. The second event is held at the Chicago Botanic Garden, with our friends at the Midwest Bonsai Society presenting the 44th Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition from August 19 through 21.
Destination Asia Festival
The Festival celebrates many different aspects of Asian culture with music, dance, and of course, bonsai. Our display will be based in the Sycamore Room, on the west end of the Visitor Center. Our vendors will have their displays along the sidewalks, just outside the Sycamore Room.
We encourage you to consider showing your best trees in the show, either as “Trees in Training” or in the main part of the show. Chris Baker, curator of the bonsai collection at Chicago Botanic Garden, will be our guest judge for the show and will award the “Best in Show.” The visitors to the Festival will also have the opportunity to vote for their individual favorite tree as the “People’s Choice”.
We will set up the backdrops on Thursday and receive members’ trees for display on Friday. On Friday evening, from 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM, the members of the Arboretum will enjoy a sneak peek at the show. The hours for the show have changed a bit this year, being available from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM on both Saturday and Sunday. During both days, we will be presenting demonstrations of the art of bonsai for anyone attending the Festival. Members will also be presenting four workshops at the Thornhill Center on the west side of Route 53. The workshops require pre-registration and payment of a fee, allowing you to choose and take home a new Brazilian Raintree, Juniper, Fukien Tea, or Chinese Elm. PSBS members pay the reduced member’s fee available to Arboretum members and must call 630-719-2468 to register.
The Festival is fun for all ages, and our visitors are always amazed by the trees presented. Come to volunteer to work and then stay around to enjoy the other exhibits of Asian culture.
Nick DiBattista, our Special Events Director, will talk more about our plans at the August 3rd General Membership meeting. Nick can be reached via email at nicholasd_1@yahoo.com or by telephone at 630-479-2112.
Mid-America Bonsai Exhibition
Our many friends in the Midwest Bonsai Society will be presenting their bonsai show at the Chicago Botanic Garden two weeks after our show. The main show will be based in the Garden’s Regenstein Center, with Mark Fields of Greenwood, IN, as their guest artist. Both courtyards will have vendors displaying trees, pots, scrolls, and other bonsai-related products. And you will also always enjoy the display from the Garden’s amazing permanent bonsai collection in the center of each courtyard. We should all plan to attend at least one day to support our fellow bonsai enthusiasts.
Getting Involved
This is also a great time to volunteer and become more involved with the club. Putting on the show at Morton Arboretum is our biggest job of the year, and we can always use an extra hand. Plus, it is fun!
If you have ideas about what you would like to see as club activities and presentations, feel free to attend a Board meeting or even volunteer to join the Board, as we have a couple of vacant spots available.
This is your club, and we are always interested in hearing new ideas.
Thanks,
Craig
