The artistry and beauty of bonsai will come to Kannapolis for the first Winter Silhouette Bonsai Exhibition.
The exhibition will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in the event room and atrium of the first floor of the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory building, 150 N Research Campus Drive on the North Carolina Research Campus. Admission is free.
“This is the first major show in the Charlotte area, and the only show in the region that is being held in the winter,” said Dr. Steven Zeisel, director of the UNC Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute,
American Bonsai Master William Valavanis will serve as a special guest artist. He will be giving a demonstration from 2 to 5 p.m. Saturday showing how to create a Japanese maple bonsai.
Ed Lauer and Harold Johnson, of the Triangle Bonsai Club will be demonstrating creating a bonsai from 2 to 5 p.m. Sunday.
People attending the exhibition can also vote for their favorite bonsai. The People’s Choice Award will be announced Sunday afternoon.
Of his collection of 80 trees, Zeisel has chosen a few that he will be showing at the exhibition along with over 30 exhibitors from throughout North and South Carolina, Virginia and as far away as New York State. Many of them will be representing the bonsai clubs that are active throughout the southeast.
“Bonsai is part art and part gardening,” said Zeisel. “When people come to the show, they will see several bonsai designed as forests to be more like a scene.
For those who are in need of bonsai supplies or who want to try bonsai for the first time, 10 vendors will be on hand with tools, trees and pots.
There will also be a banquet Saturday night that will give bonsai enthusiasts, exhibitors and vendors time to network. The banquet is $20 per person and a reservation can be made at winterbonsai.com.