The AMERICAN BONSAI SOCIETY celebrates the 9th U.S. National Bonsai Exhibition.  What an ambitious project undertaken by Bill Valavanis and the International Bonsai Arboretum!  After nearly two decades of bonsai excellence, we can look back and understand the breadth of Bill’s achievement.  During that time, we have seen tremendous growth in the interest and quality of bonsai in North America.  The biennial US National Exhibition, along with the annual ABS Learning Seminars, have both played a major role in that.  What better way to celebrate this than to hold an ABS seminar WITH the National Exhibition.  We are so excited to welcome you to this very special event!

What’s different about this?  There’s no bonsai exhibition for one – that’s at the US National Exhibition.  And there are no vendors – they’re at the US National Exhibition as well.  But we WILL have a great selection of workshops and seminars of the same high quality that you’ve come to expect of the ABS Learning Seminars. We have an amazing selection of artists who have traveled from all over the world to be your teachers, and we’re bringing in high-quality workshop material from across the country.  We will use the occasion to launch the first ABS NORTH AMERICAN BONSAI POTTERY COMPETITION.  This juried and judged event will feature the best work of the best bonsai potters in North America, and they’ll be competing head-to-head.  Who will have bragging rights until the next competition?  Come to the 2025 ABS Learning Seminars to find out.  We will also have the JOSHUA ROTH NEW TALENT COMPETITION.  For years ABS has partnered with Joshua Roth to highlight some of the best emerging talent in the country in a styling competition and this year is no exception.   Encourage the bright new artists in your club to join in and cheer them on!

So if you plan on coming to the US National Bonsai Exhibition, here’s a way to make your trip even MORE rewarding.  Come to the ABS Learning Seminars at the official hotel of the US National Bonsai Exhibition and take in some workshops and seminars on the Friday before the exhibition begins.  Are you looking for something else to do instead of waiting in line on Saturday morning?  We have some of the best artists in North America giving private styling demonstrations on amazing material.  Beat the crowds, take in one of our great private demos, and then head to the national exhibition in the afternoon after the crowds have died down.  Did you pick up a new tree for your collection on Saturday morning?  Why not bring it to one of our Bring-Your-Own Tree workshops on Saturday afternoon to turn it into a masterpiece.  Interested in pottery?  Join us on Saturday for the ABS NORTH AMERICAN BONSAI POTTERY COMPETITION to see some wonderful work by the best potters in North America.

We hope to see you at this very special event.  We have pushed ourselves to provide something for everyone – from beginners to experienced artists. We have diligently labored to keep our quality high and our costs low.  We have striven to create something very special in recognition of the important role that the US NATIONAL BONSAI EXHIBITION and the ABS LEARNING SEMINARS have played in growing the art of bonsai in North America.  Celebrate with us and make this collaboration a success!!