Monthly Meetings
Meetings for the 2026 Calendar year have been moved to Thursdays as it works better with professionals coming from out of town. Meetings are now the third Thursday of the month but with professionals schedules this is quite variable.
Bethany Congregational Church
556 N Hope Ave
Santa Barbara, CA.
Doors open at 7 pm for questions/socializing (feel to bring in trees), and announcements before the meeting starting at 7:15 pm.
The schedule is tentative and subject to change please contact bonsaiclubsantabarbara@gmail.com for confirmation.
2026 Meetings
2026 Saturday Workshops
We Are Indeed Lucky!!!!
The weather is excellent year-round and bonsai hobbyist can create their own bonsai under the best teachers California and the nation has to offer. We have teachers who were once students of John Naka, have studied in Japan and have practiced all over the world
The teachers we have selected come from all over the nation because they love teaching in Santa Barbara.
Thousands of bonsai hobbyists thru out the US and the world attend workshops at annual conventions just to watch a demonstration and/or attend workshops taught by most of our selected teachers. Take advantage of this opportunity and learn from the best teachers that Bonsai has to offer.
Who are the Bonsai Teachers?
If you ever thought about going to a major bonsai convention, picked up literature or read about bonsai conventions, our workshop instructors are names familiar to most because they have headed workshops, helped at the workshops or done demonstrations across the USA.
Why Attend our Workshops?
Take advantage of this unique opportunity. You don’t have to fly or drive to another city to attend a convention to attend a workshop taught by the teachers we selected. The teachers are coming here!
Styling a plant into a bonsai can be perplexing. The teacher’s years of experience will help a great deal in the suggestions and guidance in turning it into a great bonsai.
Other students will be working on material recently purchased, some in training, and some just needing re-grooming an already beautiful well-proportioned bonsai. Just seeing the trees others are working on will or may give you a tip on your selection of material and/or the styling of your bonsai in training.
Students range from beginners to perpetual students. Yes, several have been attending our workshops for at least 40 years. Yes, 40 years! So these “antique students” can also give you tips on what materials are good for bonsai in our area. That alone can save you years of heartache. Not all the beautiful bonsai from the various species depicted in bonsai magazines and books are good for our area.
If you have a question on the type of tree to bring relative to the season of work, please reach out to the club email at BCSB.
Student-to-Teacher Ratio
To assure quality bonsai instruction, the workshops are limited to 6-8 students. The workshops are 3 hours long so you will get a lot of personal attention working on your tree.
Fee For Instructor-led Workshops
The fee for instructor-led workshops is $50 per 4-hour session (Typically 8 Professional-led workshops per year).
Signing Up for the Workshop
Please email BCSB (bonsaiclubsantabarbara@gmail.com) to sign up and look for updates via the email newsletter. Workshop fee can be paid in person via check or cash or check (brought to the workshop or mailed to:
Bonsai Club of Santa Barbara
P. O. Box 3703
Santa Barbara, CA 93130)
Make check payable to: The Bonsai Club of Santa Barbara
Or Zelle:
