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St. Lawrence County Rock and Mineral Club hosts 46th annual Gem and Mineral Show this weekend

Posted 8/23/12

MADRID -- The St. Lawrence County Rock and Mineral Club announces its 46th Annual Gem and Mineral Show and Swap will return to Madrid this year. The show will be at Madrid’s beautiful Municipal …

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St. Lawrence County Rock and Mineral Club hosts 46th annual Gem and Mineral Show this weekend

Posted

MADRID -- The St. Lawrence County Rock and Mineral Club announces its 46th Annual Gem and Mineral Show and Swap will return to Madrid this year.

The show will be at Madrid’s beautiful Municipal Park and Community Center, on the banks of the Grasse River. Show dates are Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 25 and 26. General admission for the public is free.

This show offers something for everyone: handcrafted jewelry made with semi-precious stones for the jewelry lover, gemstone beads, jewelry making supplies, and free lessons for the crafter, museum quality crystals, fossils, and mineral specimens for the nature lover and art collector, handcrafted gift items, free mineral kits for the kids, mineral collecting trips at some of St. Lawrence County's famous rock-hunting sites for the serious or novice rockhound, fun and fellowship for rockhounds from all over the Northeast, and a different type of shopping experience for the general public.

Dozens of collectors from several Northeastern states and Southeastern Canadian provinces will set up camp on Friday evening. Most will be offering part of their collections for sale to the public on Saturday and Sunday, as well as trading specimens with other vendors. Tickets will be sold for a chance to win a large Brazilian amethyst cathedral. The winning ticket will be drawn on Sunday afternoon.

A fluorescent mineral hunt for kids will take place after dark on Friday evening. Kids, age 11 or less, will be able to borrow a portable black light to search for samples of fluorescent minerals. They will be able to keep some of the minerals that they find. There is no charge for this activity.

A special feature this year will be free wire-wrapping lessons. Dave Millis, from Pennsylvania, has been a vendor at the show for several years. He is well known for his gem trees and wire-wrapped jewelry. He has offered to give free demonstrations to anyone who wants to learn his craft on both days of the show. All lessons are free, but there will be a charge for materials.

Returning this year is a very popular display of geodes and a geode cracker. Geodes are hollow rocks that contain crystals. They were formed millions of years ago by natural processes. Some contain white quartz crystals; others contain amethyst. The customer may purchase a geode, then be the first person in the history of the earth to see the crystals inside as it is split in half in front of them. The customer gets to keep both halves.

The food concession will be open Friday evening, as well as Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks, and snow cones. Saturday night supper will be served from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Following supper on Saturday will be an auction of donated mineral specimens and other items of interest to rockhounds. It features auctioneer extraordinaire and man of many hats, Schuyler Alverson, ably assisted by Heather O’Hara.

Anyone interested in swapping and/or selling gems, jewelry, rocks, minerals, fossils, etc, may reserve a space for a nominal fee. (Application forms and fee schedule are posted on the club’s website, www.StLawrenceCountyMineralClub.org.) Collecting at the nearby Power's Farm, famous location for black tourmaline crystals, is $5 per day. There is no charge for the public to attend the show; everyone is welcome.

The Madrid Municipal Park and Community Center is located in the village of Madrid, near the intersection of State Route 310 and State Route 345. It is at the south end of the bridge over the Grasse River. It has extensive parking for many RV campers on an extensive, well-kept and mowed grass lawn. There are no hook-ups, but water and restrooms are available. There is river access, and a playground for the kids. Local restaurants are within walking distance.

For more information, check the club’s website at StLawrenceCountyMineralClub.org. Or contact Bill deLorraine at 287-4652. E-mail address is wdellie@gmail.com.