Gem, mineral show to move to Bentonville

The Northwest Arkansas Gem & Mineral Society will move its spring Gem, Mineral, and Jewelry Show to Bentonville in 2025. About 4,000 people are expected to attend the two-day show in April.

DeLane Cox, the organization’s publicity chair, said the move will allow the show to add additional vendors as it grows. The show will take place at Northwest Arkansas Armed Forces Reserve Center, 6800 S.W. Minuteman Ave., west of Arkansas Highway 12 and north of Northwest Arkansas National Airport.

“We need a larger area in order to have more dealers in order to make more money,” Cox said. “It’s a financial thing.”

Cox said 17 vendors are set to attend the show from April 12 to 13. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday (April 12) and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday (April 13). The larger space will allow the organization to add up to 30 vendors, about double the previous number. Vendors come from multiple states, including Colorado, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.

The spring show will feature “just about everything in the rock world,” Cox said. “We have vendors who specialize in mineral specimens, which means they’re tiny little things with a big price tag that you set up in a cabinet with a piece of glass over it.”

Vendors will have rough stones, stones cut into slabs, stones made into cabochons ready to be put into jewelry, and jewelry made with cabochons. They’ll also have crystals, fossils and home decorations, such as polished stones, obelisks, and large stones to set on a fireplace or table. Most items are under $50, but prices range from $1 to $1,500 or $2,000 for large stones or jewelry.

Cox said beads, flintknapping and geode cracking will be new this year. A vendor that digs up rocks near Keokuk, Iowa, uses equipment to crack them open for customers.

“Most of the time, there are crystals inside of this stone,” Cox said. “Sometimes there’s even water inside these stones that’s been there hundreds of thousands of years.”

The show is the organization’s primary fundraiser, she said. A $5 donation is suggested for attendees.