I’m still catching up from the festivities last weekend, but I wanted to share three things related to the event before moving forward: the winners, the thank yous, and a few photos.

First up, the winning entries!

The Expo recognized six outstanding entries with the following awards.

• Best in Show: Ponderosa Pine by Randy Knight, $2500 award sponsored by the Golden State Bonsai Federation
• Best Conifer: Shimpaku juniper by Jeff Stern, $2000 award sponsored by Robert Pressler, Kimura Bonsai and Landscape Nursery
• Best Deciduous: Winter hazel by Andrew Robson, $2000 award sponsored by Peter Tea, PTBonsai.com
• Best Broadleaf Evergreen: Chinese Banyan Tiger Bark Ficus by Jeff Stern, $2000 award sponsored by John Kim and Michelle Hong, Joshua Roth Limited
• Best Medium Display: Korean hornbeam and Japanese black pine by Jonas Dupuich, $2000 award sponsored by Encinal Nursery and Jeff Stern
• Best Shohin Display: coast redwood, Japanese quince, trident maple, Japanese maple, olive, and potentilla by Jeff Stern, $2000 award sponsored by the California Shohin Society

You can learn about the judging process and see photos of these trees on the Expo website.

As for the thank yous, Eric and I can’t adequately convey our gratitude in a single pass so we’ll be thanking early and often. To the exhibitors, vendors, visitors, volunteers, venue staff, and committee members, thank you for your contributions! If the Expo proved anything it’s that such an event can’t happen without the contributions of hundreds of cheerful participants working towards a shared goal: to provide a pleasant space for people spend time with beautiful trees.

We’ve started putting together a more exhaustive list of volunteers on the Expo website. I recommend checking it out and thanking anyone on this list for helping whenever you get the chance.

Over the course of the weekend I had little time to take photos, but on one pass I captured some of the trees in the first row towards the end of the day when the light turned golden. Here are some of the highlights.

Shimpaku juniper by Jeff Stern

Yatsabusa corkbark elm by Ryan Neil

Cork oak by Michael Roberts

Winter hazel by Andrew Robson

Shimpaku juniper by Boon Manakitivipart

Before signing off, I wanted to mention a fourth item by answering a question that’s come up a lot this week: yes, we’re planning to do it again!

Eric and I are currently hard at work planning for the next Expo, currently slated for Fall, 2024. If you have suggestions for what we can do better next time, feel free to let us know in the comments below.