Now This is a Real Rock Show: Annual Gem Event is This Weekend

Fluorescent minerals, sparkling gems and fascinating fossils will be captivating Bay Area rockhounds this weekend at the annual  at the

Depending which club member you ask, this is either the Mineral and Gem Society of Castro Valley’s  63rd or the 64th  “gem show,” as it's known to faithful attendees. 

The show is a fundraiser for this educational non-profit organization’s expenses, including lapidary workshops and classes offered throughout Northern California and its scholarship program. The club each year awards two scholarships to two deserving geology students at California State University East Bay.

For more than six decades the club has been hosting an annual show and sale to exhibit the members' projects, offer a place for rockhounds to buy and sell their wares and introduce the public to the earth-centric wonders that surround us. 

The event has grown steadily over the years and now attracts dealers and exhibitors from all over the United States and from China and Australia.

At $6 for a three-day pass ($5 with online coupon), it is a family friendly bargain. Parking is complimentary, and children under 13 are admitted for free when accompanied by an adult. 

“It’s the best $6 in entertainment value you will find in the Bay Area,” said Ron Miller, Acting President of the MGSCV and Show Chairman.

The event includes a live auction at 2 p.m. Sunday where fantastic handcrafted bargains can be found.

 The show also features demonstrations and displays by more than 25 club members, a booth featuring the fossils of Fremont non-profit organization Math/Science Nucleus, kid-friendly games and activities and one of the show’s biggest draws, the largest fluorescent mineral exhibit in Northern California, displayed in a specially lit darkroom.

You will also be able to see gem cutting, fossil preparation, wire wrapping, stone carving, jewelry fabrication  and other lapidary skills.

According to Miller, this is the “unofficial” main show for the Northern California Region, Fluorescent Mineral Society.

Miller hopes that attendance will surpass last year’s number of 3,000. Already expected to attend are 500 local school children who will receive a free tour and behind-the-scenes look at the show. 

“It’s a world-class exhibit featuring everything you’d ever want to discover in the lapidary arts, fossil collecting, gem displays, mineral exhibits including the rare and exotic,” said Norman Hodgson, Exhibit Chairman and club member for several decades. 

This is the second year the show has been held in Newark. Its previous home, Hayward’s Centennial Hall, was demolished to make way for development.

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