Mammoth Auction & Sale Fundraiser 2025

By George Haas
March 5, 2025

 

The annual Mammoth Auction & Sale fundraiser for the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt, Oakland, California, was held on March 1 and 2, 2025. The two-day event was located at the Lakeside Park Garden Center, 666 Bellevue Ave., Lake Merritt, in Oakland.

All proceeds go towards the yearly operational costs of operating the Bonsai Garden at Lake Merritt (BGLM).

The Mammoth 2025 schedule included:

  • Live auction on Saturday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. with a one-hour preview beginning at 12:00 p.m.
  • Bonsai vendor market on Sunday from 9:00 to 3:00 p.m. offering trees, pots, soil, stands, suiseki viewing stones, Kotedama moss balls, tools, and related bonsai supplies.
  • Bargain sales on Sunday from 10:00 to 3:00 p.m., where consignment and donated trees, pots, stands, suiseki viewing stones, and miscellaneous items were available.
  • Silent auctions of large California junipers and quality Japanese Yamaaki pots were a newly added feature this year.

The live auction was well attended by bidders and guests. Gordon Deeg led the auctioneering followed by the first appearance of Addison Galambos as auctioneer. The auctioneering tempo was rapid, and bids were at times very competitive for the quality bonsai trees. This year’s quality of consignment and donated trees was awesome!

A total of 17 bonsai vendors participated in the fundraiser. The vendors occupied the Vista Room and hallway of the garden center. The quality vendors were regional with two newly appearing vendors from Petaluma, California and Portland, Oregon. They offered moss balls (“Kotedama” in Japanese) and Mount Fuji Cherry trees, respectively. Bonsai enthusiasts were given the opportunity to purchase a wide variety of bonsai goods – trees, soil, wire, pots, hand-crafted wooden stands, tools, suiseki, and quality custom-made jewelry.

Bargain sales buyers lined up starting at 7:00 a.m. Sunday morning. Sale of consignment and donated bonsai goods is always popular where bargains can be found on a wide variety of bonsai related items.

For the first time silent auctions were made available. Individuals could bid on two large collected (“Yamadori” in Japanese) California junipers and two quality Yamaaki bonsai pots. Bids were taken on Saturday and closed at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. The feature was well received and may be considered a regular feature in future Mammoth fundraisers.

This was the 24th Mammoth Auction & Sale fundraiser for the BGLM. The first Mammoth Bazaar was established on March 29, 1992, at the Lakeside Park Garden Center to raise funds for the planned bonsai garden, which opened it gates to the public on November 6, 1999.

info@bonsailakemerritt.com