Friday, we headed to the National Arboretum's National Bonsai & Penjing Museum to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the museum and to rededicate the recently renovated Japanese pavilion. We snapped Janice Vitale with the National Bonsai Foundation President Felix Laughlin and Drs. Dick and Freddi Hammerschlag. The National Bonsai Foundation and its nationwide network raised close to $1.5M to support the renovation of the Japanese Pavilion at the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum. In addition, the Nippon Bonsai Foundation gifted three bonsais to the National Bonsai Garden to commemorate the 40th anniversary.

Rhodeside & Harwell Landscape Architects Faye Harwell and Kurt Parker surround National Bonsai Foundation Trustee and patron Deborah Rose. Their design, with Hoichi Kurisu, the Japanese Master Gardner, is inspired by Shin, Gyo and So, which are traditional concepts of spatial design in Japan that express the Earth’s elements of water, earth and vegetation. The design surrounding the bonsai will be rendered with this in mind, while the pedestals holding the bonsai will be made from boulders in an effort to connect the trees to their past.

Japanese Zen Master Moromai presents a special inscription tablet to National Arboretum Director Richard T. Olsen as Peter Warren narrates its significance and meaning.

Following the rededication ceremony, guests were given exclusive access to the newly renovated Japanese pavilion. Here, administrators from the USDA's Agricultural Research Service Simon Liu and Jacobs Young. The USDA ARS operates the National Arboretum, including the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum.

Guests also enjoyed an open bar and several displays of sushi and desserts to celebrate the evening. Here, bonsai aficionados Marcela Guzman and Chris and Isabel Ridao.