A visitor marvels at a mineral specimen during the Orcutt Mineral Society's Rainbow of Gems Show last weekend at Nipomo High School. The show returned for its 54th time after being shuttered for two years by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A slice taken from a geode containing amethyst crystals frames visitors Sunday at the last day of Orcutt Mineral Society's Rainbow of Gems Show held at Nipomo High School.
About 10 vendors filled Olympic Hall at Nipomo High School last weekend for the Orcutt Mineral Society's three-day Rainbow of Gems Show, which made its return after two years on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wayne Mills of the Orcutt Mineral Society welcomes guests to the Rainbow of Gems Show at Nipomo High School on Sunday, the final day of the three-day show. Known as the Rock Doc, Mills will give a presentation on "Rocks and Fossils of the Central Coast" at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Oasis Senior Center in Orcutt.
A young enthusiast examines a crystal Sunday during the Orcutt Mineral Society's Rainbow of Gems Show at Nipomo High School.
Crystals in various colors, mineral samples, fossils and carved and polished semiprecious stones line a vendor's table at the Orcutt Mineral Society's Rainbow of Gems Show over the weekend at Nipomo High School.
A visitor marvels at a mineral specimen during the Orcutt Mineral Society's Rainbow of Gems Show last weekend at Nipomo High School. The show returned for its 54th time after being shuttered for two years by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A slice taken from a geode containing amethyst crystals frames visitors Sunday at the last day of Orcutt Mineral Society's Rainbow of Gems Show held at Nipomo High School.
About 10 vendors filled Olympic Hall at Nipomo High School last weekend for the Orcutt Mineral Society's three-day Rainbow of Gems Show, which made its return after two years on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Wayne Mills of the Orcutt Mineral Society welcomes guests to the Rainbow of Gems Show at Nipomo High School on Sunday, the final day of the three-day show. Known as the Rock Doc, Mills will give a presentation on "Rocks and Fossils of the Central Coast" at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Oasis Senior Center in Orcutt.
A young enthusiast examines a crystal Sunday during the Orcutt Mineral Society's Rainbow of Gems Show at Nipomo High School.
Crystals in various colors, mineral samples, fossils and carved and polished semiprecious stones line a vendor's table at the Orcutt Mineral Society's Rainbow of Gems Show over the weekend at Nipomo High School.
For more information about the Orcutt Mineral Society, visit www.omsinc.org or contact Wayne Mills, the Rock Doc, at 805-354-9439.
For more information about the Oasis Center in Orcutt, call 805-937-9750 or visit https://oasisorcutt.org.
After being kept in the dark for two years by the cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rainbow of Gems Show illuminated the world of minerals, fossils, semiprecious stones and jewelry for aficionados and novices alike last weekend at Nipomo High School.
Orcutt Mineral Society’s show brought an estimated 500 people to the North Thompson Avenue campus each day Friday and Saturday and a few less on Sunday, spokesman Wayne Mills said.
"I counted them up, and I think this was our 54th show," Mills said Monday after returning from the post-show cleanup at Nipomo High.
“I’m happy that it seemed to be successful,” Mills added, noting he was just sitting down to figure out how to get the Treasure Chest prizes to people who weren’t there when the winning tickets were drawn.
“We had 68 prizes, including a $50 bill and a $100 bill, and about half those were picked up during the show,” he said.
About 10 vendors, most of them offering a variety of jewelry but others displaying exotic minerals and stones, were set up inside Olympic Hall, Mills said.
Another 50 had booths in the parking lot in front of the hall, where they offered all types of mineral samples, large and small fossils of long-extinct plants and animals, Native American arrowheads and rocks used for grinding food, and examples of natural, polished and carved semiprecious stones.
Also on display and for sale were quartz and amethyst crystals in natural clusters found inside geodes, which in some cases had been sliced into translucent cross sections, as well as intact geodes that buyers could crack open themselves in hopes of finding crystalline treasures inside.
Several vendors gave periodic demonstrations, jewelry makers could buy long strings of stones and crystals, and budding rock hounds could also find lapidary and prospecting tools at a couple of booths.
Speaking of prospecting, members of Central Coast Gold Prospectors gave kids the opportunity to pan for gold — just one of several children’s activities available during the show.
“I don’t think I heard about any dealers complaining,” Mills said. “They seemed to be happy with the crowds and their sales. I’m happy that it seemed to be successful.”
Mills said he was busy throughout the show taking care of the Treasure Chest prize drawing, but he’ll revert to his other persona at two more gem and mineral shows coming up on the Central Coast.
Then he’ll become the Rock Doc, who invites people to bring two or three of their unusual rocks for him to try to identify.
He’ll do that at the San Luis Obispo Gem and Mineral Society show Sept. 24 and 25 in the San Luis Obispo Veterans Memorial Building on Grand Avenue and the Santa Lucia Gem and Mineral Society show Nov. 5 and 6 in Atascadero’s Colony Park.
For those interested in learning more or in joining the Orcutt Mineral Society, Mills will give a presentation on “Rocks and Fossils of the Central Coast” at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Oasis Senior Center, 420 Soares Ave. in Orcutt.
"Maybe some of those [Treasure Chest winners] can pick up their prizes there,” he added with a chuckle.
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