#101 EspritBonsaiInternational - 79Useful information
Foyer communautaire,
Parc du Bois de Mons, 121, 7000 MONS, Belgium.
Contact: Jean-Daniel Delattre, +32 495 61 94 21.
Courriel : [email protected]
Website: http://www.monsbonsai.be
Facebook: Cercle montois du bonsaiers,” Jean-Daniel Delattre explained.
“Moreover, in the wake of the event
we organise a meeting to welcome
newcomers. This year, a further
22 people should have joined.”
Many of these are practising, self-
taught bonsaists. They come to the
club to learn how to choose trees to
work on, integrate technical proce-
dures and progress in their practice.
New members receive a special
welcome. They are offered an intro-
ductory general theoretical course
by the president. This gives them a
basic common knowledge on the
history of bonsai, its evolution, and
the use of bonsai tools.
“We immediately make everyone
feel at home!” Jean-Daniel Delattre
said, cheerfully. “The club’s watch-
words are conviviality, sharing and
passion. There is no formality; from
the start we use the familiar ‘tu’. As
for me, I learn something new every
day!”Eight workshops
a year
Members attend eight workshops
a year that are led by advanced
members. Each of these sessions
has a space reserved for those who
prefer to work independently. Sim-
ilarly, in February, the club offers a
trip to a nursery: “The aim being to
help members buy trees and mate-
rial to work with throughout the year,”
explained Jean-Daniel Delattre. And
the outing is convivial, made in high
spirits and a sense of tourism. Mem- A Japanese azalea in full bloom at the
Cercle montois du bonsaï 2019 exhibition.
Members of the Cercle montois
du bonsaï at a workshop in
full swing. The club organises
eight workshops a year. Advanced
members of the
club, identifiable
by their red
T-shirts, help
other members
during the
workshops.bers go for local species such as
hawthorn, birch, hornbeam or beach.
The Cercle montois du bonsaï
further motivates its community of
bonsai lovers with a bimonthly pub-
lication, “which contains useful con-
tacts, minutes of meetings, news
past and present, a horticultural
glossary, and so on,” the vice-pres-
ident enumerated. “So, if a member
is unable to attend a workshop, they
can keep up-to-date with the club’s
activities.”
Increasing the frequency of exhi-
bitions is a project that the vice-pres-
ident would like to undertake. “We
have had many requests to organise
more,” he said, thoughtfully. “With
the addition of new members, per-
haps this may be possible.”