Arco, 4 - 6 May 2012

This year the 16^th U.B.I. Congress was hosted in the Arcobonsai event which is certainly one of the most important bonsai events nationwide.
From the combination of the two exhibitions originated an event that saw more than 20,000 visitors, more than 100 bonsai in display, lectures, demonstrations of the highest level, a rich market, all within the framework of the nineteenth century Municipal Casino of Arco, in its splendid rooms and bustling paths full of flowerbeds.
Mrs. Daniela Schifano was present with a suiseki and tells us about her first ... “baraonda”.

We left with a goodbye at Arco and I could not miss the appointment with a suiseki which I found a couple of years ago in those ligurian streams I described in my report about the 2011 edition of the UBI Congress. It 's the first time I have taken part in Arcobonsai Show, as a memberof the UBI Congress, therefore I could personally live what had been described as a unique event because of its quality, vitality, richness, variety and ... “Baraonda”, unifying characteristic feature of the Saturday night dinner, now known as B & B & B. The event was organized by the Club Arcobonsai Garda Trentino and I thank the chairman Mr. Gabriele Sbaraini and all members who took part in the organization. On the left, the gazebo of music.
More than 20,000 visitors, despite the not mild weather, meet with a success undoubtedly depending on a formula that  matches activities regarding the bonsai and several side events that attract a public with mixed interests. In fact, the 13th floriculture market-show Arcofiori and the Village of Trentini Tastes with the produce of agriculture and breeding from Trento found space in the roads opposite the Casino.   Eventually the rich market, with about fifty exhibitors also from abroad, is definitely the best opportunity in Italy to choose all the material and the equipment for bonsai supporters, from pre-bonsai to vessels, from tables to setting objects. The green has been the undisputed leader in the gardens and in the historical downtown with creations and decorations by the gardeners of the City of Arco who turned the flower beds into a riot of colours and species.
For the fourth time Arcobonsai hosted and supported the UBI National Congress : more than a hundred bonsai on display in the grand Festival Hall and in an adjoining room, and a space reserved for suiseki, unfortunately only 9 pieces. The wide conference halls hosted demonstrations of bonsai techniques, a lecture by Mrs. Luciana Queirolo about the display of suiseki on suiban and the live creating from a slab of stoneware of a bonsai pot ​​by Mr. Tiberio Gracco. The event also featured the presentation of a book by Mrs. Silvia Orsi on the use of native plants to create Shitakusa or  Kusamono. We will meet her again in the next exhibition of Frascati. In short, it was really difficult not to have anything to do, however for a short while you could rest chatting in the wide veranda.
The Suiseki in display were all admitted to the U.B.I. 2012 catalogue, given the small number. Among the 9 suiseki in display, two were not competing U.B.I. Contest but participated in the award of I.B.S. and A.I.A.S. plaques.   The I.B.S. instructor Mr. Ezio Piovanelli, in the picture on the left, was judge for the U.B.I. prize while the I.B.S. Plaque was assigned by Mrs. Luciana Queirolo, and the A.I.A.S. Plaque by Mr. Angelo Attinà. The closing ceremony saw the exchange of the baton between the Arcobonsai club and the next club organizers, the Daunia Bonsai Club of Foggia in collaboration with the Bonsai Club First Heaven of Acquaviva delle Fonti Bari: the goodbye for 2013 is in Vieste, Puglia.
From these pages I want to thank publicly those who contributed to the creation of my display,  the design of which began last year: Mr. Sergio Biagi for the table and Mr. Tiberio Gracco for the Doban, the bronze tray  that was a … winning “bet”.
The suiseki in display
U.B.I. Suiseki Award Mr. Carlo Scafuri "Eneepah, mirage island" Landscape Stone Liguria
U.B.I. Mention of Merit Mr. Angelo Attinà Two mountain peaks Landscape Stone
U.B.I. Mention of Merit Mr. Filippo Lanfranchi  "Lake" Landscape Stone Liguria
I.B.S. Plaque Mrs. Daniela Schifano "Always waiting" Landscape Stone Liguria
A.I.A.S. Plaque Mr. Marino Nikpal "Madame" Object Stone Dalmatia Out of contest
Amatori Bonsai e Suiseki Genova "Island" Landscape Stone Liguria
Mr. Antonio Marino "Buddha" Object Stone Calabria
Mr. Ezio Piovanelli "The gate of heaven" Landscape Stone  Lombardia Out of contest
Mrs. Luciana Queirolo New Kikka-Seki Pool Stone Japan