Gem Diego Show

Gem Diego returns to the Liberty Station Conference Center on Saturday, November 7 and Sunday, November 8, for the San Diego Mineral & Gem Society's annual show. It's a two-day gathering of gems, minerals, crystals, fossils, rough and cut stones, books, and jewelry, with around 28 dealers and more than 20 exhibits on the floor. There are demonstrations to watch and a Kid's zone for families, and a grand prize raffle that you don't have to be present to win. Free gem identification is also available on-site, so if you've got a stone you've been wondering about, this is a good time to bring it in.

The show is run by the San Diego Mineral & Gem Society, a member-run club with its own building at the back of Spanish Village in Balboa Park. Their mission is to spread knowledge of mineralogy and earth sciences, and they do it through classes in mineralogy and lapidary arts, field trips to collect and study specimens, and by encouraging young people to get interested. They also maintain an earth-science and lapidary collection. The club is clear that it's neither a commercial lapidary supply shop nor a public-enrollment art school, so the focus here is on the hobby and the science rather than a storefront.

Admission and parking are free, which makes it an easy one to drop into for an hour or stay for the whole day. On Saturday, the show runs from 10 AM to 6 PM, and on Sunday it's 10 AM to 4 PM. Only trained service animals are admitted. The venue is the Liberty Station Conference Center at 2600 Laning Road, San Diego, CA 92106.