The 22nd edition of the Sedona Gem and Mineral Club’s Rock, Gem and Jewelry Show will take place at Sedona Red Rock High School on Saturday, Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday, Oct. 22, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Visit more than 40 vendors offering dazzling crystals, amethyst, colorful agates, rare fossils, meteorites, custom jewelry, gemstones, beads and more,” the press release stated.
Admission is $5 for adults and free for children 12 and under when accompanied by their guardians. Tickets are cash only at the door and parking is free.
Every child who attends the show will have the opportunity to take part in the Kids Adventure. They will receive instructions to seek out show locations featuring displayed balloons. At these locations, each child will receive a complimentary identified rock to add to their growing collection. This means that every child can expand their collection and leave the show with a set of 12 distinct specimens.
“They kids are just fascinated [because the specimens] are rocks from all over the place. They’re from Arizona as well as the rest of the country and some of them are from outside the country,” show chairman Mark Moorehead said. “It’s fun, they get excited … it stimulates their mind and it gets them thinking about their planet.”
“New for 2023, we have gemologist Helen Serras-Herman, she comes from Rio Rico in southern Arizona,” Moorehead said. “We look forward to her because she’s very knowledgeable, she’s published quite a few books. We’re proud to have her because she’s kind of a celebrity gemologist and also an artist.”
“I carve gemstones and make jewelry and everything is one-of-a-kind,” Serras-Herman said.
“I’ve been doing this for 40-plus years. I also have some beautiful slabs and specimens for everybody [to view]. I’ll have some beautiful crystals from my natural crystals collection. I drill a groove and then I wrap them in silver or gold and I make them into jewelry. That’s something I know will appeal to people at the Sedona show.” “It’s been a few years since I’ve been to the Sedona show, so I’m looking forward to coming back,” Serras-Herman said. “I’ll also be coming back to Sedona for the club to talk to them at their April meeting because I do a series of talks, lectures and presentations.”
Food during the show will be provided by 3’s in the Trees, a repeat winner of the Arizona Daily Sun’s Best Food Truck contest.
The show also offers an opportunity to discover the opportunities available through the club, which include field trips and speakers during the monthly meetings that are held nine months out of the year. Sedona Gem and Mineral Club meetings take place on the third Tuesday of the month at 7 p.m. at the Sedona Public Library. The yearly membership fee is $20 for individuals and $30 for families; name badges are available for $10.
“A lot of the proceeds [from the show] goes to scholarships for our local high school students,” Moorehead said. “It is something we’re proud of, we’ve given [about] $40,000 in the last 20 years in scholarships. Which is open to any student who attends Sedona Red Rock High School.”
