The Mid Atlantic Bonsai Society (MABS) will hold its 39th annual Spring Bonsai Festival at the Holiday Inn Grantville-Hershey, 604 Station Road, in Grantville from April 19-21.
It will start at 1 p.m. Friday and continue until noon Sunday. You can see the entire schedule at this link.
The festival includes a large bonsai tree exhibition, professional bonsai lectures, demonstrations, workshops, a vending area, and professional critiques of bonsai.
The festival attracts bonsai enthusiasts and newcomers with a large bonsai display by the MABS club members and world-renowned guest artists.
Registrants have weekend-long opportunities to view the bonsai exhibit and to observe and spend time with the artists up close at intimate breakout sessions between demonstrations.
Says MABS President Carl Achhammer Jr.: “Each year’s festival shows the growth of bonsai exponentially in the USA. The member’s trees get more beautiful each year as bonsai education grows and our vision is enhanced. We are happy to have the event back in the Hershey area again as we always have a great turnout from the participating clubs and general public for the festival.”
The show is held in different states due to its revolving venue to accommodate all the clubs. This year MABS will have 3 guest artists: Sergio Cuan and Boon Manakitivipart from the United States and Rafael Torres from Spain, who will inspire and teach bonsai enthusiasts at all levels. It will also be held in Grantville next year.
A special three-person demo on Friday night will feature all the guest artists on the same stage working similar material. On Saturday and Sunday, they will have separate teaching demonstrations during the festival. Demo material will be raffled off for a small ticket fee, and there is a banquet you may attend with a large auction on Saturday night, a press release said.
The local Susquehanna Bonsai Club will be displaying trees. They also are planning to set up displays at the Fort Hunter Garden Faire on May 5 and at the Hershey Gardens from Sept. 25 to Oct. 12.
In addition, Longwood Gardens has announced that it will be supplying two trees from its collection to be put on display.
Longtime MABS board member Karen Harkaway said the festival gives her “a great opportunity to enhance my bonsai skills while I watch the best artists in the world. I learn so much watching the demos and viewing the display trees. It’s also great to see old friends and make new ones as we share our knowledge and enjoyment of the art.”
Registration is online at www.midatlanticbonsai.org. Registrants can sign up for individual classes, presentations throughout the day, and the banquet. The general public can attend the bonsai displays and vendor’s area for a small walk-in $20 fee. Directions and other accommodations can be found on the website, a press release said.
The Mid Atlantic Bonsai Society is an organization featuring 12 individual bonsai societies located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The purpose of both the individual societies and the overall organization is to educate the public about the art of bonsai.
For MABS, this is accomplished primarily through this annual regional festival.
Click on this link to explore clubs near you.
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