Pacific Bonsai Expo, Oakland CA, November 12-13, 2022

Sansokuu

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Just a heads up - At present we are nearing capacity for Saturday. We've sold more weekend passes than we expected and would like to encourage those who do not yet have tickets to come on Sunday rather than Saturday.
Maybe encourage vendors to set aside Sunday only table restock offerings? 😉
 
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Anyone driving from texas to the expo? im looking at a tree alvaro has from cho bonsai and looking to see if i can schedule transportation, reach to me via message if so! thanks in advance!
 

Eric Schrader

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Maybe encourage vendors to set aside Sunday only table restock offerings? 😉
Hi All - just an update from Jonas and I:

The 2022 Pacific Bonsai Expo is only five weeks away! Here are some tips to ensure a successful visit.

1. Purchase Tickets in Advance

Tickets are available for Sunday, November 13th at the Expo website. Although Saturday tickets are sold out (thank you for the support!), you can attend Saturday by volunteering, sponsoring a prize, or making a donation (see the Expo website for details about which donations qualify for passes).

2. Carpool or Rideshare

Parking is extremely limited at the venue, so your best bet is to carpool with at least 3-4 people per vehicle or use rideshare services like Uber, Lyft, or taxicab.

  • If you are staying in a nearby hotel, we strongly encourage you to use rideshare services.
  • If you are a local bonsai enthusiast or volunteer, we strongly encourage you to carpool with 3-4 people per vehicle or use a rideshare service.
If you are coming from a distance and find that no parking is available at the venue, we recommend parking in Emeryville where there are lots near Bay Street or the Emeryville Public Market.

3. Bring Food

There's no food at the venue, so plan accordingly. Nearby lunch options are numerous in Emeryville near Bay Street or at the Emeryville Public Market. You can also bring lunch.

For those of you who can't attend this year, you can find event t-shirts online and pre-order the exhibit catalog.

And I want to add here the following:

1. I am extremely grateful for the support that we are receiving from the community for this event. We have been working many hours to make it run smoothly. AMA if you want more info.
2. We've had some real disappointments regarding the venue's ability to provide enough parking - when we signed the contract they had up to 800 parking spots, but then 4 months ago they notified us that 400+ of them were no longer available. Basically the land was leased out to a container shipping company to stack with containers. 🤦‍♂️ 😭 :eek::mad:
3. If you don't have tickets yet - please plan to come Sunday! We may have a few tickets available at the door but this is still TBD based on the fire marshall approved capacity.

Oh, and finally - ticket prices go up Friday.
Commemorative album prices are $15 off for the next couple weeks then going up to $85. (Free shipping in the US either way!)
 

Eric Schrader

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Anyone driving from texas to the expo? im looking at a tree alvaro has from cho bonsai and looking to see if i can schedule transportation, reach to me via message if so! thanks in advance!
I know Brandon B who runs the Austin club is coming but not sure if he's driving.
You might check with him about others.
 

Sansokuu

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2. We've had some real disappointments regarding the venue's ability to provide enough parking - when we signed the contract they had up to 800 parking spots, but then 4 months ago they notified us that 400+ of them were no longer available. Basically the land was leased out to a container shipping company to stack with containers. 🤦‍♂️ 😭 :eek::mad:
This might be an issue if venders have to leave to get food and come back to no parking spot. Is it possible to reserve some spots just for vendors? 😭
 

Eric Schrader

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This might be an issue if venders have to leave to get food and come back to no parking spot. Is it possible to reserve some spots just for vendors? 😭
I think that we'll probably have informal groups running out to get food. There are a few parking spots reserved for vendors. However, we are STRONGLY encouraging people to carpool or use ride-share apps. If you carpool, bring 3+ people. If everyone does that there will be no problems with parking! And just to tell you how serious I am - I will be parking in Emeryville on Saturday and Sunday and then biking to the venue. That's so someone else who is not as ambulatory can have a parking spot!
 
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I think that we'll probably have informal groups running out to get food. There are a few parking spots reserved for vendors. However, we are STRONGLY encouraging people to carpool or use ride-share apps. If you carpool, bring 3+ people. If everyone does that there will be no problems with parking! And just to tell you how serious I am - I will be parking in Emeryville on Saturday and Sunday and then biking to the venue. That's so someone else who is not as ambulatory can have a parking spot!

How early can we get into the parking lot saturday?
 

Eric Schrader

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How early can we get into the parking lot saturday?
I believe 8am. The security and parking staff will be there at that point. However, if you're there earlier, you'd likely just queue on Burma road at the entrance to the John Sutter trailhead parking lot.
There are 267 official visitor parking spots, plus a couple areas that are used for staff/vendors and oversize vehicles. I am actively working to secure more nearby parking, but it's not going well!

Here is a map of the site:

Screen Shot 2022-10-06 at 6.10.44 PM.png
 

hemi71cuda

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Not sure how many people reading this are going but I was hoping to hitch a ride with someone from the hotel. Maybe we can spread the word about carpooling and informally organize ride sharing in the lobby.
Also fyi for anyone who hasn’t booked yet, the $143 express deal on Priceline.com is the same hotel recommended by the expo. I think the group rate was $183/night so significant savings.
1445836F-B028-4A63-A396-3C9CCE20A6FD.jpeg
 

Ruddigger

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I booked at the Hilton Garden Inn. It was close by and significantly cheaper than the recommended hotel
 

Eric Schrader

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Just an update for those staying in Emeryville - we checked out the Bay Bridge Trail which runs from near Ikea through the CalTrans property (under all the freeways) over to the BridgeYard and to the viewpoint where the old eastern span was.
To my delight, the trail is not only nice, but it's clean, wide, landscaped and even has some lighting. A good alternative for those who might want to walk or bike from Emeryville to the venue.

Jonas also confirmed that pedestrian access from the hotel and the Emeryville public market is really good. It takes about 30 minutes to walk, and it took me about 10 minutes by bike.

 

Coppersdad

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Frank, let's face it, out here in the west EVERYTHING "is a bit of a drive"! 🤪
Hope the PBE will have some sort of nametag opportunity for those who wish it. It'd be nice to put faces to names of some of the folks we've been connecting with on the internet. (If not that, how about a message board so folks can connect??)
 

Eric Schrader

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Hope the PBE will have some sort of nametag opportunity for those who wish it. It'd be nice to put faces to names of some of the folks we've been connecting with on the internet. (If not that, how about a message board so folks can connect??)
All ticket holders will receive a lanyard when they arrive. We're going to pre-print as many as possible, but you may end up writing your own name on it depending.

Update:

All Advance tickets are sold out.
We're in a bit of limbo right now with tickets waiting for final approval from the fire marshal before we can announce whether tickets will be available at the door.

Meanwhile, you have two options:

1. Sign up to volunteer for 4 hours on one of the Thursday-Sunday days at this link and receive free admission:
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b0844aaa72ca7f49-pacific1

2. Make a donation of $250 or more and receive weekend passes.

Thanks for your support everyone!
 

vancehanna

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I volunteered on being security at the show on Friday Nov 11th. Stop by and say hello!
 
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