Ikebana International October Meeting

Ikebana International holds its October meeting at Casa del Prado in Balboa Park on Wednesday, October 28, starting at 10 AM. It's one of their regular monthly gatherings, and admission is free.

If you're not familiar, the San Diego Chapter (#119) of Ikebana International was founded in 1968 by a group of locals who had lived in Japan and studied the art of Japanese flower arranging. They're part of the worldwide non-profit founded in Tokyo in 1956 by the late Ellen Gordon Allen, which operates under the motto 'Friendship through Flowers.' The chapter welcomes many different schools of ikebana, including Ikenobo, Ohara, Sogetsu, and Ichiyo, and has hosted master teachers over the years. Back in 1988, they hosted the 11th North American Regional Conference.

They've long been a presence in Balboa Park, staging an annual spring flower show, arranging the Tokonoma in the Japanese Friendship Garden, and taking part in the San Diego Museum of Art's Art Alive exhibition. Beyond the flowers, the chapter also supports Japanese-American civil rights history and disaster relief.

The meeting is in Room 101 of the Casa del Prado, and it kicks off at 10 AM on October 28. Admission is free.