Are you ready to rock? The Clackamette Mineral and Gem Club plans to oblige with its 54th annual Mineral and Gem Show at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds this weekend.
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The event is completely free to attend, including free parking, and offers demonstrations of various lapidary arts (including faceting, sphere making, polishing, jewelry making and much more). The show includes kids’ activities, vendor tables and displays of rare gems, meteorites, petrified rock, fossils and other cool stones, door prizes, raffles and a silent auction.
There will also be the Fluorescent Mineral Display, which has been one of the show’s most popular elements since it was first introduced to the show in 1972. Featuring minerals from the personal collections of local Club members Mike Santino, Bob Oblack and Trent Sullivan, check out the photo at the top of this article gives you a little taste of what this very cool display is like.
“It’s really just a way to showcase the lapidary arts,” said Oblack, who also serves as the club’s public relations coordinator. “There’s going to be a lot to see and do. They’ll be showcasing everything from how to put a facet on a gemstone to how to make a spear.”
The Mineral and Gem Show will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
All proceeds benefit the non-profit Clackamette Mineral and Gem Club, which is dedicated to promoting geology, rockhounding, mineral collection, lapidary and jewelry arts through a variety of community activities.
Named for an ancient tribal word from the Native Americans who once populated the area, the club was founded in 1963 in West Linn. Its first gem show was held two years later at Gardiner Middle School in Oregon City.
