Prescott Gem and Mineral Club’s Annual Gem and Mineral Show set for July 31-August 2 at Findlay Toyota Center
A handful of dedicated rock hounds started the Prescott Gem and Mineral Club in 2003. It’s now one of the largest gem clubs in Arizona, boasting a membership of more than 300. Meetings take place monthly at the Moose Lodge in Prescott Valley, and guests are always more than welcome. Most months, the Club offers programs on a variety of subjects ranging from field trips to beading to local geology.
The Club put on its first show—not much more than a tailgate party—in 2004. Since then, the show has grown from its meager beginnings in the livestock building at the Yavapai County Fairgrounds (where the flies outnumbered the patrons) to what it is today: the largest indoor show in Northern Arizona.
In 2020, the show will once again take over the Findlay Toyota Center in Prescott Valley for three days of rockin’ fun: Friday, July 31 through Sunday, August 2.
Visitors can find anything their hearts desire related to rocks and minerals: finished one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces, rough rock, slabs, fossils, mineral specimens, equipment, beads, findings, and so much more.
With more than 60 vendors from around the western United States, the show will not disappoint.
In addition to the variety of vendors, Prescott Gem and Mineral Club members will show off their collections and talents in display cases. The show will feature a dedicated kids’ area where the young and young at heart can spin the wheel for prizes and hold dinosaur bones or coprolite (fossilized dino poop!) in their hands. Plus, every paying entrant will receive a free raffle ticket for the great prizes offered daily. Visitors will have the chance to see demonstrations in lapidary and jewelry arts throughout the weekend.
Finally, visitors interested in turning rock hounding into a hobby are welcome to stop by the Club table, manned by volunteers.
While the Annual Gem and Mineral Show is the Club’s biggest event, members are busy throughout the year. The Club offers several scholarships through Yavapai College, as well as monthly field trips to rockhounding spots around the state (and at least one out-of-state field trip each year). These trips afford everyone a fantastic opportunity to get out in the country and have fun collecting rocks and fossils. Club members welcome newbies; they’re glad to help identify treasures found! The Club offers regular workshops with instructors who help attendees learn the art of lapidary or slab gems they brought home from rockhounding field trips.
The Prescott Gem and Mineral Club are dedicated to increasing knowledge in the sciences pertaining to minerals, gems, rocks, and fossils. The club also strives to increase the knowledge and art of cutting, grinding and polishing those materials for use in the creation of jewelry and other useful objects. Membership in the club is open to all ages and levels, from the dedicated fossil collector to those who just love beautiful rocks and minerals available around us.
To learn more, visit www.prescottgemmineral.org