National Bonsai show hailed a big success
PROSPECTIVE hobbyists trooped to the 8th National Bonsai Show from Feb. 27 to March 2 at the Atrium of CSI the City Mall in Dagupan.
Activities included film showing and lectures on how to culture and raise bonsai by well-known practitioners.
On display were rare ornamental plants which have previously won in several bonsai competitions.
Majority of those who participated in the event wanted to learn how to culture bonsai as a hobby or as livelihood.
The event, hosted by the Pangasinan Bonsai Society (PBS) headed by Michael Morden of Villasis, was the 8th in a series held in the same venue since 2000.
Exhibitors from Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Manila and other parts of the Ilocos Region also participated.
Bobby Gopiao, president of the National Bonsai Society, graced the five-day show.
Jun Gutierrez, a member of the PBS from Calasiao, said he appreciated seeing some of the country’s best flora aged from 20 to 80 years old.
Gutierrez, a hobbyist since six years ago, said raising bonsai plant requires a lot of patience that starts from finding the right materials and putting the right amount of care to the plant as if it is your own baby.
He pointed out that Pangasinan is naturally rich in plants suitable for bonsai-making like bantigue, a plant used to be abundant in Bolinao until over-harvesting made it scarce, prompting the municipal government to ban the gathering and extraction of the plant.
A bantigue bonsai fetches up to P100,000 or more, depending on the age.
Another ideal material is cantaromas, which teemed as a wild vine in the beaches of Dagupan during the pre-and post-war years until it became extinct due to massive extraction.
The 8th National Bonsai Show was sponsored by the CSI Group of Companies, Pangasinan Provincial government and Mouse House Internet Cafe.—LM
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