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About our Annual Show

We host a rock and gem show in October each year

Our club has been hosting an annual show since 1979. Taking place at Kyle Centre in Port Moody, BC during a weekend in October, the show typically attracts between 1,200 and 1,400 guests. The goal of our show is twofold: to generate revenue to fund the ongoing operation of our non-profit organization, including the lapidary workshop at Kyle Centre, and to spread awareness of the lapidary arts, mineral/rock collecting, and the earth sciences.

Highlights of our show include:

  • Dealers and Sales Tables
  • Displays
  • Interactive Display Table
  • Spin & Win
  • Gem Panning
  • Rock Hunts
  • Silent Rock Auction
  • Closed Bid Gemstone Auction
  • Demonstrations
  • Refreshments

We believe a rock and gem show should appeal to the public at large and not just people already in the lapidary space. Through appealing to a broader base we can better fulfill the mandate of our club. We achieve this objective by involving the local community, inviting special guests, and anchoring our displays and show happenings to a unique, centralized theme each year.

Recent show highlights include:

  • 2017 was Canada's 150th birthday and our club spent 12+ months in advance working on a very special rock related project. It involved assembling a display of 150 rocks from across Canada and designing and printing a special companion brochure. We were thankful to receive loans and donations from dozens of individuals and organizations across Canada, including the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the Royal Ontario Museum, MineralsEd, Potash Corp., Hudbay Minerals, and the Dartford Museum (England). Funding for the brochure was provided by the Canadian Geological Foundation. Thanks to the grant money we were able to hand out brochures to all of guests.

  • Our 2016 show titled, "Seeking Sulphur", featuring element #16, sulphur. We invited local sulphur exporter, Pacific Coast Terminals, Ltd., who had a table at our show explaining how sulphur made its way to Port Moody, where it went, and what it was used to make. The Britannia Mining Museum, Bralorne Gold Mines, and MineralsEd contributed interesting sulphide ore samples for our interactive display table.

  • Our 2015 show titled, "Supernatural Stones", featuring the unique but natural properties of stone. We invited Jennifer Moore from Glowhounds — who recently won a prize for her display of fluorescent rocks in Kelso, Washington. Jennifer kindly set up the award winning display in our display room and it was well received by the public.

  • Introducing a closed bid "Gemstone Auction" in 2015. Club member and master faceter Geoff Cameron cut a blue topaz in recognition of the City of Port Moody. The stone was set in a sterling silver finding and chain. The stone was fittingly named, "The Star of Port Moody". We decided to extend this concept into a trilogy of stones - cut in Port Moody, for Port Moody. The second stone in the trilogy, auctioned off at our 2016 show, was a lemon citrine named, "The Light of the Inlet". The third and final stone will be unveiled at our 2017 show.

  • Introducing a "Rock Hunt" in 2015. Kids purchase a collection box for a nominal fee and search the show for 6 complimentary rock samples. The collection can then be expanded by purchasing additional small samples from show dealers.

  • Our 2014 show titled, "Marvellous Mud", featuring fossils and mud-formed jaspers. We invited the Royal Ontario Museum to be part of our show. They kindly responded by contributing a number of Burgess Shale fossil casts which were the central display of the show that year. We also invited local fossil cleaner/artist Rod Bartlett to demonstrate his craft.

  • Introducing an "Interactive Display Table" in 2014. Erica Williams, a recently retired geology teacher, spends the weekend talking rocks with the public. Guests are able to touch and feel a number of rock specimens and ask questions in an informal setting.

  • Our 2013 show titled, "From Then to Now", celebrating the club's 35th anniversary and the City of Port Moody's 100th birthday (both happening in 2013). We invited the local museum to host a display of interesting rocks and rock-related artifacts and Past Mayor David Driscoll to display a carving from a piece of wood gifted to him by our club in 1988. Member Geoff Cameron cut a special stone of 100 facets — one for each year of Port Moody's existence — and then donated the stone to the City as a token of club's appreciation.

Have questions about our show? Contact our Show Chair or learn about how to secure table space.