by Linda Loschke, Past President
The first meeting of the Prescott Gem & Mineral Club was held in October, 2001 with 35 members in attendance. It has been growing steadily; now its current membership is almost at 300.
The Prescott Gem & Mineral Club’s charter is to:
- foster the development of amateur lapidary and jewelry craftsmen
- foster an interest in mineral collection
- present educational programs designed to improve knowledge, craft skill
- promote public interest in these areas
We sponsor scholarships at Yavapai College in lapidary, jewelry and geology. These scholarships are open to the general public, as well as our members.
We also have experienced speakers in earth sciences who would be happy to give presentations at local schools. Our monthly meetings include guest speakers and monthly field trips for specimen collecting.
Our first Gem & Mineral Show was held in 2003 at the Prescott Fairgrounds. After a few years we outgrew that facility and moved to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. A couple of years later, the show was moved to its current location at the Findlay Toyota Event Center in Prescott Valley.
The show gets bigger and better every year. We how have over 60 vendors from California, Nevada, New Mexico and Arizona. The vendors offer finished jewelry, jewelry supplies and equipment beads, fossils, minerals and rocks. The club has a Fluorescent Rock Booth, geode splitting and a kid’s activity area. Twice a day, demonstrations are held in jewelry making or lapidary. Valuable raffle prizes are given away each day.
The 16th annual Gem & Mineral Show and sale will be held at the Findlay Event Center Aug. 2, 3 and 4. Hours are Friday and Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for seniors, veterans and students. Children under 12 are free with a paid adult admission. For more information, visit our website at prescottgemmineral.org.
