Atlanta Bonsai Society

Category: Clubs Also called: ABS; AtlBS; ATL Bonsai Society; The Atlanta Bonsai Society, Inc.; atlantabonsaisociety.com Last checked: 2026-10-07

What it is

The Atlanta Bonsai Society (ABS) is a volunteer-run, non-profit bonsai club for metro Atlanta, Georgia. Its About page dates it to 1963, when the club was founded with fifty members. The by-laws say The Atlanta Bonsai Society, Inc. was incorporated in DeKalb County on July 16, 1973 as a non-profit and refer to its 501(c)(3) status. The club typically meets on the third Saturday of each month, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM, followed by afternoon workshops from 1:00 to 4:30 PM, and says it focuses on in-person bonsai learning, often led by professional educators. Membership is a $40 yearly fee. The club also runs an annual spring show at the Atlanta Botanical Garden and fall outreach at JapanFest and the Ormewood Park Makers Fest. It is not a commercial nursery and not a botanic-garden tuition class series.

Who it’s for

Metro Atlanta and North Georgia bonsai growers at every level. That includes beginners who want a guided first tree and a beginner meeting, intermediate growers who want monthly third-Saturday programs and $75 seasonal workshops, and experienced members who want to show trees at the spring exhibition and work with visiting artists. People who want only a one-off ticketed class with no membership should look at Learning listings instead.

Why it’s listed

This is a first-party club site. It prints a monthly meeting cadence, a public join page with a dollar membership price, a stated workshop rate, a dated fall 2026 event program, named officers, a club history back to 1963 and full by-laws. It is not a Facebook-only club and not a scraped directory card.

Club identity / cadence (About page, checked 2026-10-07):
- History list: 1963, club founded with fifty members; 1964, first show; 1967, established the “Bonsai Garden” at the Atlanta Botanical Garden; 1973, hosted the World Bonsai Conference; 1981, hosted the BCI Convention; 2013, 50th-anniversary show at the Atlanta Botanical Garden.
- By-laws (ratified October 20, 2018): incorporated in DeKalb County, GA, July 16, 1973, as a non-profit; the official address is a P.O. box; membership runs on a calendar-year basis.
- Cadence: “typically meets each month, on the third Saturday from 10:00am – 12:00,” then workshops 1:00–4:30.
- Officers listed include President Brownlee Currey. General questions go to [email protected].
Membership / fees (Join page + home, checked today):
- Standard Yearly Membership: $40 for 365 Days (Join/Renew page).
- Workshops: “The cost of each workshop session is currently $75 for at least 3 hours, unless we are including tree or other materials, which may be extra.” The club provides wire; participants bring their own tree and tools (home page).
Fall 2026 program (home page, checked today):
- September 19–20, 2026 (past): JapanFest exhibition and “build a bonsai” workshops at the Gas South Convention Center.
- Saturday, October 10, 2026, 11:00 AM–6:00 PM: club booth and beginner classes at the Ormewood Park Makers Fest (booth at 1046 Delaware Ave SE). Workshops are sold through the festival’s site.
- Wednesday, October 14, 2026, 7:00 PM: the year’s last beginner’s meeting, at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center, with instructor Rodney Clemons. Register on Eventbrite and bring your tree.
- November 21, 2026, 10:00 AM: members’ garden visit to Miyata Bonsai south of Atlanta. The address is emailed to members.
- December 12, 2026: Annual Meeting and Holiday Party (details to come).
Annual show (Annual Show page, checked today): spring exhibition at Day Hall, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Saturday–Sunday May 2–3 (setup Friday May 1), member-judged. Membership includes garden admission that weekend.

Meeting times, fees and event dates above are what the official pages showed on the check date. They can change. Confirm on the live home page before joining or traveling.

Official URL

https://www.atlantabonsaisociety.com/

About (cadence, officers, history, by-laws): https://www.atlantabonsaisociety.com/about-the-atl-bonsai-society/
Join / renew ($40 Standard Yearly Membership): https://www.atlantabonsaisociety.com/register/standard-yearly-membership/
Member benefits: https://www.atlantabonsaisociety.com/member-benefits/
Annual show: https://www.atlantabonsaisociety.com/annual-bonsai-show/
Resources: https://www.atlantabonsaisociety.com/resources/
Work calendar (North Georgia care guide): https://www.atlantabonsaisociety.com/work-calendar/
Club event registration (the society’s Eventbrite organizer page, linked from the home page): https://www.eventbrite.com/o/atlanta-bonsai-society-35349374543

Location

Region: Metro Atlanta / North Georgia.
Regular meetings: third Saturday monthly, 10:00 AM–12:00 PM, with workshops 1:00–4:30 PM. The site does not print a single standing meeting venue. Venues are posted per event, for example Callanwolde Fine Arts Center (Oct 14 beginner meeting) and Day Hall, Atlanta Botanical Garden (spring show).

This is a club meeting identity. It is not a retail nursery showroom and not a botanic-garden tuition desk.

Notes

Category is Clubs. ABS is a first-party, member-run non-profit with a public $40 membership, a third-Saturday cadence and a dated fall 2026 program. Its beginner meetings and $75 workshops are club programming and do not move this card into Learning.
Founding-year conflict: the About page says “Established 1963,” but the club’s current logo reads “Established in 1962.” This card follows the About page text.
Stale sections: the blog / “Recent Posts” sidebar stops in March 2022. The Annual Show page lists 2025 Categories and a leftover “Saturday March 16th” judging line next to the May 2–3 schedule, and it does not print the show year. The Member Benefits page still carries a note about an expired promotion. The home-page program is current through December 2026.
The “third Saturday” cadence is the About page’s general statement. Fall 2026 dates printed on the home page do not all fall on third Saturdays (Oct 10 is a second Saturday and Oct 14 is a Wednesday; Nov 21 is a third Saturday). Check the home page for the next actual meeting.
The Oct 14 Eventbrite page was reachable (HTTP 200), but its ticket status was not confirmed. The page is a recurring series that also shows “Sales ended” / “Sold out” text. Makers Fest workshops are sold on the festival’s own site with no fee printed on the ABS page.
Held earlier as the Tue Oct 6 Clubs alternate. It still checks out on 2026-10-07.
Geographic spread: Atlanta GA is the plaza’s first Georgia listing. It is away from Tue Hales Corners WI, Mon Indianapolis IN, Fri Sarasota FL, Thu Cleveland OH, Wed Ann Arbor MI, Tue Sep 29 Nashville TN and Mon Sep 28 St. Louis MO club geos.
Listing image: first-party ABS logo saved beside this file as atlanta-bonsai-society-logo.png (from /wp-content/uploads/2021/10/cropped-new_atlbs_logo_trans.png).
Not affiliated with Bonsai Plaza.
No Bonsai Plaza contact, purchase, booking, or publication action was taken.

FAQ

Q: When does the Atlanta Bonsai Society meet?
A: The About page (checked 2026-10-07) says the club typically meets on the third Saturday of each month from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, with workshops from 1:00 to 4:30 PM. Venues change by event. The fall 2026 home page lists an Oct 14 beginner meeting at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center (7:00 PM), a Nov 21 garden visit and a Dec 12 annual meeting and holiday party.

Q: How much does membership cost?
A: The Join/Renew page lists a Standard Yearly Membership at $40 for 365 days. Membership is required for members-only content, and the by-laws say dues run on a calendar year.

Q: What do club workshops cost?
A: The home page says each workshop session is currently $75 for at least 3 hours, unless a tree or other materials are included, which may cost extra. The club provides wire, and participants bring their own tree and tools.

Q: Is this a nursery or a Learning class?
A: Neither, for Bonsai Plaza category purposes. ABS publishes membership dues and a member meeting program, so the card is Clubs. Tree retail with shop prices belongs under Nurseries (this ship: Bonsai Akira). Garden-hosted class series with printed tuition belong under Learning (this ship: Blithewold Bonsai Essentials).