Pint-sized plant lovers come to Durban Book Fair

THE countdown has begun for the annual Durban International Book Fair which takes place at The Globe, Suncoast, from August 9 to 13.

Dedicated to the promotion of literature and a reading culture in Africa’s only UNESCO city of literature, the event has become highly anticipated within the literary community and among book lovers. This year’s theme, ‘The Book and Beyond’, will allow attendees to explore and understand the literary world like never before.

Attending this year’s Durban Book Fair will be the Durban Bonsai Society that will be showing a modest selection of trees, with experts on hand to explain the art of bonsai to the general public.

The Durban Bonsai Society was founded 50 years ago and currently has 50 members, and according to the DBS Chairman Scott Bredin, anybody with an interest in bonsai can join. “We encourage anybody with an interest in bonsai to join. Our membership includes people from all walks of life and of all ages. The annual subscription fees are modest at just R250 (or R350 for a family).”

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The local organisation holds monthly meetings with workshops, demonstrations and talks by experts. “There are excellent forums where beginners are mentored by those with more experience. From time to time, we arrange outings to visit bonsai collections in the region. We hold annual shows of high-quality trees,” said Bredin.

If you can’t make it to the Durban Book Fair or if you’re interested in upcoming events that the Durban Bonsai Society will be hosting, you still have a chance to attend the South African Bonsai Association convention. “We are very excited to be hosting the South African Bonsai Association convention on November 4 and November 5 at the Durban Botanic Gardens. The SABA convention is held annually and hosted in different parts of the country. The last time a similar convention was held in Durban was the African Bonsai Convention 3 back in 2011, so we are very excited to be hosting this event after such a long hiatus,” said Bredin.

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The Durban Bonsai Society chairman says that this event features a full programme of demonstrations and talks from leading bonsai experts from across the country, a display of outstanding bonsai trees, the national finals of the ‘New Talent’ competition and an extensive sales area.

“Members of the public can elect to attend the full convention, pay to view the show or simply browse the sales area,” he concluded.

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