December 2004

MINNESOTA BONSAI

A Publication of the Minnesota Bonsai Society

Feast - Auction - Holiday Party!

Don't miss the best meeting of the year, where it's all about having fun to wind up our bonsai year! It all happens on December 7th when we begin to arrive around 7 PM, hopefully with all the stuff we're supposed to remember to bring - food for the potluck feast and something for the Como Collection Benefit Auction, which has become a tradition for our December meeting.

At 7:30, we'll have a quick business meeting to fill out ballots to elect the 2005 board of directors - while the food is being arranged on tables and the coffee's being brewed. Here's how the potluck supper works: The club provides trays of meats and cheeses, veggies and dip, buns and bread, plus beverages.  Members provide all the extra goodies - so bring your best homemade specialties, your fancy salad, baked goods, candies and other desserts. Or bring chips and dip, nuts, crackers, or something from the deli that no one else will think of! The more, the merrier!

After we enjoy our first helpings(!) we'll have an informal auction of donated bonsai stuff, with all proceeds going to benefit the bonsai collection at the Como Conservatory. Our club and the conservatory have a mutually beneficial relationship - we help to put on shows, and they let us use their facilities for workshops. Together, we're building toward a future permanent bonsai collection, and the auction is part of our fund-raising efforts. So please bring an item or several - something you don't need but that someone else would love to have. Search your storage places and bookshelves for bonsai pots, accessories of all kinds, books new or used, and plant material (which always generates lots of interest).

Remember - there is no meeting in the month of January. However, we will be getting an online January Newsletter to help brighten the post-holiday season!

IN THIS ISSUE 2005 Board Election BALLOT Sept.-Oct. Board Mtgs. Minutes Annual Winter Banquet - January 22 Teachers for 2005 Links to Bonsai Web Sites Maps to Meeting Locations CALIFORNIA CONVENTION PHOTOS Overview and Vendors The Bonsai on Display The Suiseki Show Bonsai Collection-North Nursery and Pot Shopping

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

Dec. 7, 7:30 - General Meeting Election, Holiday Food, Como Auction! Class of 2004 - See note below Dec. 28, 7:30 - Board Meeting

CLASS OF 2004 - Jeff Lorch is working on a special learning experience for us. It may be in December or January, or even later. Watch for the announcement in the next newsletter or in a mass membership Email.

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