The 2006 late summer meeting in my garden #1

While not exactly a traveling event, the whle world traveled to me on this occasion.

The first of these meetings in my garden was in September 2001. Many people 'knew' each other from the German bonsai forum but had never met in person. So the idea was to have a party together. And I volunteered to have this in my garden which many wanted to see anyway.
Abut 25 people came and it was considered a great success. We did some short demos for insiders, some tree critiques and a lot of discussing, of course.
Since then this meeting took place every year and on Saturday, Augst 26 was the sixth traditionla Late Summer Meeting in Attenham, south of Munich, Germany in my garden. More than 200 people came and it was overwhelming. They came from all over Germany, of course, like 600 kilometers away form Berlin, Dortmund, Dusseldorf, etc. They came in hoards from Austria. Some from Switzerland, Italy. Two from the Netherlands, one from Paris, France. Twenty people came from Slovenia. And I am sure I have overseen some more exotic visitiors.
This meeting takes place on the last Saturday of August every year. Several people do demos. I do tree critiques all day long. Visitors are encouraged to bring their bonsai and shrubs for discussion. Some bring trees for sale and trading. Some bring their yearly output of pots for sale. It has become a 'must' event where one meets people once a year. Contacts are made and friendships. It is much more than an open garden, it is an institution in the Central European bonsai scene.

the last picture is of the fist meeting in 2001, the other ones ar from the 2006 event.