These numbers give a clear indication of the uniqueness and success of this event. Then there are the emotions of those who participated, who are born from seeing many friends, from meeting new ones, from being together for dinner at the same table and talking many different languages but all united under the sky of the same passion. Italy has tried to best accommodate European guests, organizing a welcome dinner in an original setting, sailing on Lake Garda in a large boat. The second evening, on the other hand, was more informal, in the classic "B & B & B style- Beer, Bonsai and Baraonda (festivities)", in which there is now the custom that each participant bring a gastronomic specialty such as cheeses, salami, liqueurs from their own region, to be tasted by everyone present.
All the bonsai and the suiseki exhibited at this convention will be published in the prestigious UBI Catalog Best Bonsai and Suiseki 2018. Many suiseki were of European origin: Italy, particularly Liguria, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, but also from Japan and China. The limited display space was not adequate for a good display of suiseki due to the large number of stones entered into the exhibition and the need to have them close to each other. The display was divided between two neighboring rooms.
The awards for suiseki were many and were presented by the respective judges from the ESA, UBI, IBS, AIAS and BCI. The ESA award was given to an original toad-shaped stone from the Gobi Desert exhibited by Mr. Holger Göbel from Germany. It was incredible for its resemblance. Two ESA President’s Awards went to the mountain stone "The dark side of the mountain" by Claudio Villa from Italy and a stone mountain of Mr. Carlo Guardigli from Italy. An ESA Nomination was presented to Mr. Santo Buratto from Italy for his landscape stone "Like a robin, a storm of leaves" that was found in Italy. The second Nomination went to a plateau stone of Mrs. Martina Vyhlidalova from Slovakia. The UBI first prize for suiseki was given to the danseki of Ms. Daniela Schifano from Italy who also received the IBS award and the BCI Award of Excellence. The UBI Mention was given to the mountain stone presented in an innovative doban, made in Cor-Ten, of Mr. Igor Carino from Italy. The second UBI Mention went to an imposing mountain stone of Mr. Claudio Villa from Italy. The AIAS plaque was assigned for UBI to a cascading stone of Italian origin, displayed by Mr. Riccardo Sorbino. An ESA plaque was presented to Mr. Igor Barta for his boat shaped stone displayed in a suiban. The AIAS President's Award was given to Mrs. Gudrun Benz for her stone.
AIAS winning stone by Riccardo Sorbino
As an Italian, I liked very much to see the stones of ESA's European members, for the chance to see diverse types of stone from the typically Italian, almost always Ligurian stones… it was a beautiful trip!