MADRID -- The St. Lawrence County Rock & Mineral Club will present its 49th Rock, Gem and Mineral Show August 21 to 23 at the Municipal Park and Community Center featuring dozens of vendors, demonstrations and more.

There is no charge for admission. Dozens of collectors/vendors from the northeast will offer part of their collections for sale to the public. There will be rocks, fossils, arrowheads, mineral specimens, and museum quality crystals and gems, hand-crafted jewelry vendors and jewelry making suppliers for sale.

Free mineral kits for kids will be available. Activities planned are rock-collecting trips, gem tree and wire wrapping classes, educational geological presentations, a rock and mineral auction, raffles, and more.

The show kicks off Friday night after dark. On Aug. 21 club member Dino Zack, a certified geologist from Buffalo and student mentor at SUNY Buffalo, will lead the always popular free Fluorescent Mineral Hunt for Kids.

Children will use a portable black light to search the park for samples of fluorescent minerals provided by the club. Zack will give a 30-minute geology presentation around 8:30 p.m. prior to the fluorescent hunt which will also cover the requirements for scouts to earn their geology pins and loops.

The club is sponsoring the “Geode Cracker.” Geodes are hollow rocks formed millions of years ago by natural processes. Some contain quartz crystals; others contain amethyst. Customers may purchase a geode, then be the first person to see inside the geode as it is split in half right in front of the buyer.

New this year, the SUNY Potsdam Geology Department will be on-hand to help identify rocks, answer any questions, and be part of the Geode Cracking Team. Bring rocks and minerals from home to the show and have it identified by an expert.

Guided field trips to Power’s Farm in Pierrepont are planned Saturday and Sunday at 9 a.m. The location is known for black tourmaline and quartz crystals and is a collecting location for brown tourmaline and tremolite. Sign up at the registration table inside the pavilion. The cost is $5 per day per person and open to all ages.

A free raffle for kids returns Friday evening during the mineral hunt. Kids can win a new fluorescent lamp. The second place winner receives a rock & mineral club t-shirt.

Selling and swapping begins Saturday, Aug. 22 at 9 a.m. Vendors will sell their wares and also Zack and his family will man the mineral kits for kids table. There will be free specimens for kids while supplies last. Zack will give general geology presentations Saturday at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.

Club Member Dave Millis, from Pennsylvania, well known for his gem trees and wire-wrapped jewelry, will offer wire wrapping lessons/demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday. Lessons are free but there will be a fee for materials.

On Saturday the rock and gem auction will take place at 5 p.m. in the red Marine Corps Building on the grounds.

Throughout each day of the show, tickets will be sold for a chance to win a large Brazilian Amethyst Cathedral. Tickets cost $1 each or six for $5 and can be purchased inside the blue pavilion. A geode valued at $450, that was part of the collection of the late club-founding father, Schuyler “Sky” Alverson, will also be auctioned off. The winning ticket will be drawn Sunday at 2 p.m.

The Madrid Municipal Park and Community Center are located in the village near the intersection of State routes 310 and 345.

Local restaurants are within walking distance and a food concession truck will be open during show hours, selling hamburgers, hot dogs, drinks, and snow cones.

For more information visit www.stlawrencecountymineralclub.org or contact club president Bill deLorraine at 287-4652, or wdellie@gmail.com.