Cape Fear Bonsai Society unveils packed 2026 lineup of workshops and exhibitions

Cape Fear Bonsai Society’s 2026 calendar is already stacked from a permitted native collection outing in late April to a Jim Doyle literati workshop in September, giving local growers a season-long roadmap of what to see, take in and register for.

The year opened with a members-only native collection outing on April 30, a rare chance to gather material under limited-term permitted access at a local site during a 120-day window. That kind of outing is not just a field trip; it is the sort of structured collecting opportunity that can shape a club bench for months to come. It also sets the tone for a lineup that mixes hands-on tree work with instruction built around specific species and styles.

The next stop on the schedule is a one-two punch on May 17 at UNCW OLLI Truist Hall, 680 College Road in Wilmington. Kyle Purvis is leading a Water Elm Bonsai Workshop and, later the same day, a presentation on Southeastern Trees for Bonsai. For growers trying to expand beyond the usual starter stock, that pairing matters: one session puts hands on the tree, and the other broadens the material list with trees suited to the Cape Fear region.

June turns the calendar public. Cape Fear Bonsai Society’s exhibition is set for June 13 at the New Hanover County Arboretum in Wilmington, a familiar venue for a club show that has long doubled as a display and a market. The society’s 2025 exhibit page showed trees trained and maintained by members alongside sales of bonsai, pre-bonsai trees, pots, soil and accessories, and the 2026 show looks positioned to follow that same model. A June 28 presentation on penjing with Aarin Packard keeps the educational pace moving into summer.

The club’s July 19 picnic and beginner bonsai workshop may be the most important date on the calendar for anyone still trying to find a first tree or learn the basics without feeling lost in the jargon. Cape Fear says it was established in 2001, meets monthly to study and practice bonsai, and welcomes both novice and experienced practitioners. That mix shows up again in the fall, when Jim Doyle returns for a September 26 literati workshop at UNCW OLLI Truist Hall, with participant tickets and a free silent-observer option, followed by a full-day demonstration on September 27.

Nature’s Way Nursery says Doyle and Michael Chapman’s introductory bonsai classes cover history, styles, design, maintenance, pruning, wiring, potting and refinement, which helps explain why his name still draws attention across experience levels. Put together, Cape Fear’s 2026 lineup reads less like a club bulletin and more like a working plan for the local bonsai year, with enough structure to help members, beginners and visitors map out where the next trees, lessons and displays will be.