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2025 Silhouette Show
Craig Cronquist
The Prairie State Bonsai Society presented its fifth annual Silhouette Show on Saturday, February 22nd, and Sunday, February 23rd, at The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL.
The show included thirty-three trees and forests, primarily deciduous, in their leaf-free winter splendor, but also a handful of coniferous trees, displaying their internal structure in the spirit of a bonsai silhouette show. As usual, the Society included trees categorized as “Trees in Training” so the viewers could understand the effort and interim steps needed to prepare a bonsai. The show also featured displays of many suiseki stones.
Fifteen club members participated by displaying their trees. In 2024 at Cantigny we had 18 trees with 8 members participating, so we were close to doubling participation. We did have some trees planned to be shown but proved to be inaccessible due to the cold weather.
Attendance at the show exceeded expectations. We had at least 531 attendees on Saturday and 544 on Sunday, for a total of 1075. Attendance was boosted by the model train show also being held that weekend and by the unseasonably warm weather.
The Society was pleased to be joined by vendors BC Bonsai, selling bonsai trees, pots, and other accessories; and AWindowsillParadise, selling succulents.
The Society presented its first Silhouette Show in February, 2020 and has held its show each year since, skipping 2021 due to the pandemic.
This year’s show was located in the Sycamore Room at the Arboretum, the same venue used for the Society’s annual bonsai show presented in August as part of The Morton Arboretum’s Destination Asia Festival. In addition to the August bonsai show itself, Prairie State Bonsai Society includes demonstrations for festival attendees and workshops at the Thornhill Education Center on the West side of the Arboretum. The Destination Asia Festival presents cultural events from many Asian cultures, including music (singing and instrumental), dance, and even sumo wrestling. That festival is scheduled for the August 2nd and 3rd weekend in 2025.
A massive thank you to all who participating by showing a tree or volunteering to work on setup, at the show, or to break things down!
