The Mississippi Gem and Mineral Society’s 67th Annual Show is scheduled for Feb. 28-March 1 at the Trade Mart on the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson.
Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 1. Admission is $8 for adults and $3 for students. Scouts and Scout leaders in uniform get $2 admission. Children 5 and younger get in free.
As one of the state’s largest and longest running rock and gem events, the two-day family-oriented show has something for everyone. More than 25 vendors will pack the Trade Mart. New vendors this year are Sticks to Stones of Pell City, Alabama, which specializes in petrified wood; Minerals in Creative Arts, MICA, from Meridian; and Bench 22 Creations of Asheville, North Carolina, creators of handcrafted natural jewelry. A returning regular and crowd favorite is The Geode Gallery from Davenport, Iowa, which cracks geodes while you watch and stocks plenty of pre-cut and polished geodes.
Beautiful jewelry is always part of the show. Jewelry artists will demonstrate techniques in beading, wire wrapping, gem faceting, cabochon making and other lapidary work throughout the show. Vendors offer jewelry makers an opportunity to stock up on beads, gems, findings and tools. The show also features multiple jewelry shops. Whether it’s fine jewelry or children’s trinkets, shoppers will find something to fit their taste and budget.
The show is an opportunity to learn about rocks and fossils across the state and around the world. Local collector William “Woody” Pettis of Bentonia will display fossils, minerals and artifacts he found in Yazoo County over the course of more than 50 years. His collection includes whale bones from the time when most of Mississippi was covered by ocean, and bison, horse and deer bones from animals that lived during the Ice Age.
Representatives of the Dr. John M. “Jack” Kaye Cretaceous Fossil Park, a work in progress in Columbus, will provide information about their plans for an area of Propst Park along Luxapalila Creek. The site has marine and terrestrial fossils ranging from shark teeth to multiple species of dinosaurs.
Geologists, paleontologists and other scientists as well as college students in those disciplines will answer questions about their fields. The Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, the Office of Geology of the state Department of Environmental Quality, and instructors and students from Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi and the University of Southern Mississippi will have displays.
Flint knapping enthusiasts will show how arrows, bow drills and other stone tools were made by Native Americans hundreds of years ago.
The Touch and See Table invites visitors to hold and examine nature’s wonders. The collection includes native Mississippi rocks as well as specimens from around the country and around the world.
Children can enjoy hands-on crafts. One of the most popular is gem tree making. MGMS members make the wire frames in advance, and children thread on gem chips or beads.
For more information, call or e-mail Vonda Echols, 601-259-8801 or vondaechols@att.net. Visit the Mississippi Gem and Mineral Society website at https://missgems.org/ and follow the group on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/
The Mississippi Gem and Mineral Society, founded in 1957, promotes knowledge and enjoyment of activities related to the earth sciences.
