SouthernMaple
Chumono
Just found out some really sad news today that the NC Expo at the Asheville Arboretum is cancelled for not just 2022 but forever.
NC Expo cancelled indefinitely
- Thread starter SouthernMaple
- Start date
WNC Bonsai
Omono
Good opportunity for someone like the folks that run the shohin show to take over and keep this tradition alove. A real loss to our community in the SE. Arthur says that it is time for him to focus his energy on to other things.
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
That is terrible news. People who run these shows need to realize there is no other life for them.
Suppose Santa Claus said he had other stuff to work on.
Suppose Santa Claus said he had other stuff to work on.
Jcmmaple
Chumono
Well that sucks, I was looking forward to that. Sounds like the club needs to get together with others and start one. That was a good resource for tools, pots and other things.
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
Any link to an official announcement?
Separately... if anyone has Arthur's email can you send it to me in a PM?
Separately... if anyone has Arthur's email can you send it to me in a PM?
SouthernMaple
Chumono
this will definitely be discussed at the January Blue Ridge Board meeting later this month. I talked with members of some of the other Carolina clubs at Kannapolis about doing something similar in Kannapolis, but after mentioning to the board in the December meeting nothing really came of it. Maybe after this sad news something will come to fruition. The NC expo is a lot of work for Arthur and since the arboretum is owned by the state there is alot of things that we don't see that goes into planning for it. This is a huge loss for the Arboretum because the Expo is the 2nd biggest money producer for the Arboretum each year.
In 2023 the Blue Ridge Club along with Danny Coffey and Bjorn and other mixed media artists will be doing an event celebrating bonsai and similar art at the Blue Spiral art gallery in downtown Asheville. This event is still in the early stages so don't tell anyone.
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Orion_metalhead
Masterpiece
Whoops!
SouthernMaple
Chumono
im joking please tell everyone
Orion_metalhead
Masterpiece
Of course haha!
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
Is there an overall bonsai federation for all the clubs in NC? Or in the SE region or East Coast? Or are all the clubs more or less independent?
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
The Potomac Bonsai Association is an umbrella organization for mid-Atlantic clubs from Baltimore down to Richmond. I don't know if there is an equivalent in the Carolinas.
PBA Clubs – Potomac Bonsai Association, Inc.
potomacbonsai.com
Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
If there isn't, we need one. Probably from the Carolinas south, inclusive of Florida.The Potomac Bonsai Association is an umbrella organization for mid-Atlantic clubs from Baltimore down to Richmond. I don't know if there is an equivalent in the Carolinas.
PBA Clubs – Potomac Bonsai Association, Inc.
Look at the Golden State Bonsai Federation. California is 12% of the country, and granted bonsai interest is stronger on the west coast given the greater Asian influence, but the Federation is a great structure to help clubs, provide educational resources, maintain permanent collections, and organize the larger shows. It is becoming apparent that the Asheville show and the Kannapolis show are both on tenuous footing... because they are labors of love of one or two individuals - instead of the combined efforts of 100's of people.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
Love it that there is such an event planned for Asheville. The local push for shows and exhibits, hopefully, will grow. Those kinds of exhibits can spark a lot of interest in bonsai regionally.
FWIW, if you want to make the drive to Richmond in Feb. a similar exhibition with regional bonsai artists is scheduled at the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden throughout the month.
Also, again a drive for North Carolinians, but the Potomac Bonsai Association's Show and Sale is slated for May 6-8 at the National Arboretum in D.C.
PBA Spring Bonsai Festival
Art event in Washington D.C. by Potomac Bonsai Association on Friday, May 6 2022 with 211 people interested and 55 people going.
www.facebook.com
I also think PBA has a fall show scheduled also.
These are small consolations in the face of losing the North Carolina Arb's event, but can help to scratch the bonsai itch.
rockm
Spuds Moyogi
I did a search and remembered that there is a Carolina bonsai group:
bonsaicarolina.org
Centered around Charlotte, N.C.
Welcome | Bonsai Carolinas
jimib
Shohin
I literally booked a cabin in Asheville last night… I’m still going to matter what. We love the area, but it was nice to be able to go see the show at the Arboretum. We will still go to the Arboretum, they have a fantastic display of their own.
The Asheville show was kinda unique in that only about a dozen clubs were invited to participate. Each club got a table to use however they wanted. If an individual was not a member of one of those clubs, they couldn’t show their tree. Arthur strongly encouraged “innovative” displays, and some clubs were very good at planning and building unique displays just for that show.
The Atlanta Bonsai Society always participated, but most of us are fairly traditional in our display tastes, and we tended to show our trees in the traditional manner.
It was a “different” kind of show. A mix of “club level” trees and trees of the highest caliber. Some of the trees on display really shouldn’t have been there, in my opinion, but each club decides for themselves what to put on their table. (There was once a dead-as-a-doornail brown juniper procumbens on one table.)
The best part of the show was meeting and getting to know other bonsaists from all over the South. Seeing them every year and catching up is one of the main reasons I like going to the “big” shows.
The show will be missed.
The Atlanta Bonsai Society always participated, but most of us are fairly traditional in our display tastes, and we tended to show our trees in the traditional manner.
It was a “different” kind of show. A mix of “club level” trees and trees of the highest caliber. Some of the trees on display really shouldn’t have been there, in my opinion, but each club decides for themselves what to put on their table. (There was once a dead-as-a-doornail brown juniper procumbens on one table.)
The best part of the show was meeting and getting to know other bonsaists from all over the South. Seeing them every year and catching up is one of the main reasons I like going to the “big” shows.
The show will be missed.
SouthernMaple
Chumono
Well I am now the VP of the Blue Ridge club and I am in charge of programming however all of my ideas are voted on by the board and modified and and then reworked. One of my missions this year was to get club members more comfortable with putting their trees into shows as most of the time 3-4 members of our club would show trees at every show for example in Knoxville only 3 members showed 5 trees and 4 accents. I hope to one day have a tree to show in a club and not having the NC expo anymore kind of puts a wrench in those plans. Also the 2019 NC expo was my first bonsai show and it was a very good experience, I got to meet so many great people, I bought a tree from Natures Way, I got schooled on displays by @Adair M I had lunch with Owen Reich, it was a bonsai hobbyists wet dream and it was in my backyard.
I would like it very much to start a federation for the Southeast and work towards having a show similar to the NC expo where all the clubs got a few tables and we all competed for bragging rights. I feel competition really promotes inspiration to do better in bonsai and I would like to see how my trees stack up against all of the other clubs even if it takes me 5 to 10 years. I honestly feel we can do this and make another NC expo or better yet a Southeast expo. So tell me what I need to do and I will make it my life goal but of course it would be nice to have others help.
I would like it very much to start a federation for the Southeast and work towards having a show similar to the NC expo where all the clubs got a few tables and we all competed for bragging rights. I feel competition really promotes inspiration to do better in bonsai and I would like to see how my trees stack up against all of the other clubs even if it takes me 5 to 10 years. I honestly feel we can do this and make another NC expo or better yet a Southeast expo. So tell me what I need to do and I will make it my life goal but of course it would be nice to have others help.
penumbra
Imperial Masterpiece
I wish you the very best.
I don’t know how many members you have in your club, but I suggest that you start small. That is, just have a show in your local area for just your club. Beginners are often intimidated by the thought of having to compete against really good trees. Of course, some of your more experienced members will have better trees than the beginners, but at a club show, those experienced members can help the beginners get started. Maybe lend them a display table for the show, help with accent plants, suggest pot/tree pairings, etc. Once they get comfortable with that, then they might want to do the bigger shows.
Even in Atlanta, there was usually only a small core of participants who wanted to show at Asheville. It wasn’t close by, there was the expense of renting a place to stay during leaf peeping season, etc.
So, i’d recommend starting small.
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