Huge bonsai show devoted to 'little trees'

Sacramento is about to become the “City of Little Trees.”

This weekend, April 13 and 14, the American Bonsai Association, Sacramento, will host its 64th annual Bonsai Show and Sale at Shepard Center in McKinley Park. Show hours are 10 a.m to 4 p.m each day. Admission and parking are free.

One of the country’s oldest bonsai clubs, ABAS dates back to 1958 – the same year the Shepard Garden and Arts Center was opened to the public. That’s seven years before Sunset published its first book on bonsai.

Since World War II, Sacramento has been at the center of bonsai interest in the United States. The nation’s oldest bonsai club is the Sacramento Bonsai Club, which was formed in 1946 by previously interned Japanese Americans. (Sacramento Bonsai hosts its 78th annual show on May 4.) Its meetings were originally held in Japanese.

ABAS was created to accommodate English-speaking garden enthusiasts who were interested in learning how to grow “little trees in pots.”

Its show is a celebration of this gardening art and sharing it with others. Live demonstrations will be held each day.

Special guest artist Tyler Sherrod of Dogwood Bonsai Studios in North Carolina will fashion a bonsai at 1:30 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. His finished demonstration trees will be raffle prizes. Trained in Japan, Sherrod is an internationally known bonsai artist and renowned teacher.

The ABAS show will feature scores of bonsai, some of them representing decades of growth and artistry. In addition, see a display of suiseki stones. Shaped by natural forces, suiseki stones inspire through their shapes, color and longevity; they often resemble mountains, islands, bridges, animals or other recognizable forms.

Also find bonsai supplies, pots and trees for sale at the club’s vendor and consignment tables.