New gem and mineral show rocks city

By Justin Seward on May 17, 2022.

Herald Photo by Justin Seward Owen and Finley Lomanski and mother Melissa Norris search for polished calcites at the Mark Rock on Lapidary Supplies booth at the CanGem Gem and Mineral Show on Saturday at Exhibition Park.

The CanGems Gem and Mineral Show made its inaugural stop in Lethbridge over the weekend at Exhibition Park.
The Gem and Mineral Show displayed small businesses that had fossils, minerals, gemstones and crystals.
“It’s just a celebration of the gem and mineral kingdom,” said Melissa Robak, CanGems Gem and Mineral Show co-organizer. “We used to host an event here called a Rock and Gem Show and we basically chose to shift our focus a little bit. We’ve done a lot for our own company, Silver Cove, and we wanted to give back to the vendors themselves and help to promote those individual vendors. This is the launch of the entire program across Canada.
Robak said they’re taking everything they’ve learned from 20 years in the business about gems, minerals and crystals, and talking to people.
“So finding vendors is all about creativity,” she said. “So what we’re looking for – we’re looking for creative people – but we’re also looking for people who have that spark. We want them to be passionate about what they do because they’re sharing their passion with everybody else.”
Vendors ranged from the local Gem Mineral club and the year-round rock hounds to jewelry makers and hand-woven designs.
“I even have somebody here doing stickers that are actually crystal inspired that you can actually put on your window on your vehicle,” she said.
“It’s a little bit of everything. Lapidary is the art of stone cutting, a lot of people see the word lapidary and have no idea what we’re talking about. But that is your cutting of stone; that is creating things from gem stones and we really do try to target those guys. We’ll look at some of our local organizers and different things we can find that way.”
Robak says there are a few things that are important.
“One is to get the variety in,” said Robak. “So to make sure you have something that is going to appeal to everybody. Minerals aren’t just for collections. You’ve got your home décor, you’ve got your metaphysical – so people who work with the energy – you’ve got your stone cutters, interior design and everything in between. So trying to get all those represented is important.”

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