Gem & Mineral Show comes to Freeport Recreation Center
Find mineral-based fossils, jewelry created with gemstones and rare finds at the Freeport Gem & Mineral Show. Credit: Kaleidoscope Gem Shows
Freeport turns into a sparkling site of crystals and beads as the Gem & Mineral Show comes to the Freeport Recreation Center April 15-16.
The show features fossils, jewelry created with gemstones and rare minerals most people haven’t seen before.
April’s show will feature about 30 vendors from Long Island and around the world, many of whom are well versed in the metaphysical properties of crystals and more.
WHAT TO EXPECT: GEMS, MINERALS GALORE
“Most people discover things at these shows that they’ve never seen before,” says Evelyn Gose, of Melville, who runs Kaleidoscope Gem Shows on Long Island. Participating vendors source their stones and items from throughout the world, adds Gose, a fine jewelry and gemstone dealer who has run the show for the past decade and a half.
Freeport Gem and Mineral Show
WHEN | WHERE: Freeport Recreation Center; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., April 15; 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., April 16
ADMISSION: $5.50; children 12 and under are free
INFO: 130 E. Merrick Rd., Freeport; 631-271-8411, kaleidoscopegemsows.com
Some vendors offer gems in their untouched form; others set them in copper, silver, gold and platinum jewelry or in decorative objects, like handmade leather diaries with hand-produced paper adorned with gemstones.
Long Island-based dealers include Hunza Gems of Floral Park, which has minerals and exquisite lapis beads, Sound Beach’s Gem Cove, a mineral dealer, Digging For Fire, a rock, crystal and mineral dealer based in Port Washington, Celinka Unlimited in Bohemia, Jewelry by Mary in Holbrook, and Designs by Evy, which offers dragonflies, golden bugs and other unique jewelry designs.
Known as the Purple Lady for her perennial penchant for amethysts, Celinka Unlimited’s Elaine Casani will bring a huge selection of jewelry, rocks in the rough, polished rocks and geodes to the show, with prices ranging from $2 to about $1,300.
“It’s such a variety. I can’t imagine someone not finding something they’re looking for, something that catches their eye,” Casani says.
Casani notes she’ll never forget the first gem show she went to 33 years ago.
“It’s mind-boggling the first time you go,” she says. “And once you’ve been there, you definitely don’t want to be doing something else that weekend; you want to see the show.”
Prices run the gamut, from a few dollars for a small mineral specimen, charm or beaded bracelet, to $40,000 to $50,000 for a very rare mineral or fossil.
The show is fun for the whole family, Gose adds. “Children adore rocks and minerals. What child do you know that doesn’t go up and pick up rocks?”
To attract families, there’s free admission for children younger than 12 who are accompanied by an adult.
The admission fee is donated to the Freeport Recreation Center to support community programs. The weekend will also include gift certificate giveaways and a grand prize drawing at the end of the day.
