Fairgrounds to host Gem, Fossil, Jewelry Show
TROY- Rocks, gems, fossils and minerals of all kinds will be on display at the Miami County Fairgrounds on Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27, during the 41st annual Miami County Gem, Mineral, Fossil, and Jewelry Sale and Show.
Hosted by the Miami County Gem and Mineral Club, the show will be held in the Duke Lundgard Building at the Miami County Fairgrounds, 650 N. County Rd. 25A, Troy. The show will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday; admission will be $3 for adults. Children’s admission and parking will be free.
“There will be vendors selling rocks, gems and minerals from around the world,” Show Chairman Dewey Buck said. “Different types of rough stone, finished products, jewelry; any sort of rock.”
In addition to vendors, the show will also feature geode cracking and gold panning demonstrations, door prizes, a silent auction and a raffle.
“We’ll also have a food vendor there, so food will be available,” Buck said.
“It’s a really great show,” he said. “It’s normally a pretty crowded house, especially on Saturday.”
Children will receive a free rock, and there will also be a free children’s area featuring Wheel of Fortune, grab bags and sluice.
“There will be a children’s area set up,” Buck said. “Kids can get in the sluice; we give the kids a bag of rocks that they can sift through.”
“They get to play in the dirt and the water, and that’s what kids like to do,” he said.
Now in its 41st year, the annual show is staffed by volunteers from the Gem and Mineral Club.
“It’s put on completely by our club, and the club members volunteer,” Buck said. “We’ve got a really good club full of members right now.”
The Gem and Mineral Club was founded in 1976 at Brukner Nature Center, Buck said.
“They used to do their show in the Brukner parking lot,” he said.
The Gem and Mineral Club meets on the second Wednesday of each month at the Troy View Church of God, 1770 N County Rd. 25A, Troy, and operates a lapidary lab that is available for club members to use by appointment.
The club also hosts summer field trips and offers a $500 annual scholarship that is presented during the Gem, Mineral, Fossil, and Jewelry Show.
“The show is our one big event,” Buck said. “That brings in enough money for the things we want to do.”
More information can be found online at www.mcgamc.org.