The Waimea Bonyu Kai Bonsai Club will hold its annual Bonsai Show for the community this weekend following a three-year hiatus amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
The free event is open to those looking to enjoy, and learn, about the wonderful plants. It’ll take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Sunday at the Waimea Community Center, next to Waimea Park.
During the two-day show, members of the 66-year-old club will display their bonsai, talk story with attendees, and share refreshments, according to organizers. In addition, the club do short bonsai demonstrations.
“Once a year, the bonsai beg to be displayed and appreciate the attention,” organizers said.
Bonsai is an artistic example of a natural tree in miniature form.
“It lives outdoors in small containers, nurtured by both Mother Nature and its caretaker. It is essentially a work of art and is produced through expert care and manipulation of natural plant material,” according to the club.
The club is expecting to present a large number of the unique plants, including those formed of juniper, ohia, bougainvillea, Surinam cherry, jaboticaba, banyan and more. Each will be spaced a distance apart out of precaution as the COVID-19 pandemic continues.
However, the bonsai will not be for sale.
“Sorry, they’re our babies,” said organizers.
The Waimea Bonyu Kai Bonsai Club was organized in 1956 by Manzo Mitsunami and Herbert Ishizu and fostered by Yutaka Kimura and Isami Ishihara.
Decades later, the club is operated by dedicated members.
The club meets every fourth Sunday and the emphasis of the meetings is to help group members work on and improve their personal collections of bonsai.
It continues a tradition that had its beginning with Japanese immigrants and contract workers who arrived in Hawaii in the mid-1800’s, growing dwarfed trees and plants in pots using materials found in Hawaii and Japanese black pine.