KANNAPOLIS — The annual Winter Silhouette Bonsai Expo returns to the N.C. Research Campus Saturday, Dec. 3 and Sunday, Dec. 4.  The free event offers families an opportunity to relax and enjoy the artistry of bonsai before the holiday season kicks into high gear.

Organized by bonsai artist Steven Zeisel, MD, PhD, director of the UNC Nutrition Research Institute at the N.C. Research Campus, the event features demonstrations and an exhibition of bonsai trees. Beginners will be able to buy their own bonsai tree and all the supplies they’ll need from any one of 35 vendors. The vendors and demonstrations will guide them on how to grow and maintain a bonsai tree.

“Bonsai is part art and part gardening,” said Zeisel, who has over 80 bonsai trees. “When people come to the show, they will be amazed to see several bonsai designed as forest scenes and others portraying individual trees that you might see in nature. At such a busy time of year as the holiday season, the event is a respite for families to enjoy time together.”

Joining Zeisel for the Winter Silhouette Expo are well-known bonsai masters from around the country including:

• William N. Valavanis, world famous bonsai artist and owner and founder of the International Bonsai Arboretum in Rochester, New York. He has been involved with bonsai for 50 years.
• Owen Reich, a bonsai artist and teacher from Nashville, Tenn., who has a degree in horticulture from the University of Georgia and is a student of Fujikawa Kouka-en bonsai nursery in Japan.
• Rodney Clemons, an Atlanta, Ga., bonsai artist and instructor, specializing in Japanese gardens and natural water features. He leads a study group at Smith Gilbert Gardens in Kennesaw Ga., where he is the curator of their collection.
• Adam Lavigne, a Florida bonsai artist and bonsai blogger.

The event will be in the David H. Murdock Core Laboratory Building at 150 N. Research Campus Drive in Kannapolis on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking is free.

For the full schedule of events or to register for the Dec. 3 dinner, visit the event website.