The Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase are gem and mineral shows that take place annually in late January and February at multiple locations across the city of Tucson, Arizona. Most of the shows are open to the public, except for certain trade shows which require registration with a business license.
The key event of the Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase is the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show produced by the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society. This show has been held annually since 1955 and now occupies 181,000 square feet (16,800 m2) of the Tucson Convention Center. Many museums and universities, including the Smithsonian Institution and the Sorbonne, have displayed at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show.
The first Tucson Gem and Mineral Show was held in an elementary school in 1955 and shortly thereafter moved to a Quonset hut at the Tucson Fair Grounds. In 1973, it moved into the Tucson Community Center, first occupying the North Exhibit Hall, then expanding into the Arena and upper Arena concourse. After the completion of the new facility in 1990, which is now called the Tucson Convention Center, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show now occupies the Arena, Exhibition Halls A-B-C, Galleria and Ballrooms. Katherine Rambo estimates that between 1996 and 2010 there was an average of about thirteen hundred total dealers from forty-nine states and thirty-two countries in attendance, annually. [1] The 2021 show was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [2]
The Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase is one of the single highest revenue-producing events for the Tucson economy. The estimated economic impact in 2019 was $131.4 million,according to Jane Roxbury, director of gem show services for Visit Tucson. [3]
The 2021 showcase was pushed back from the typical dates to April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While some of the shows were present, the main show at the Tucson Convention Center and some of the other shows were cancelled. [4]
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States, and is home to the University of Arizona. It is the second-largest city in Arizona behind Phoenix, with a population of 542,629 in the 2020 United States census, while the population of the entire Tucson metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is 1,043,433. The Tucson MSA forms part of the larger Tucson-Nogales combined statistical area. Both Tucson and Phoenix anchor the Arizona Sun Corridor. The city is 108 miles (174 km) southeast of Phoenix and 60 mi (100 km) north of the United States–Mexico border. Tucson is the 33rd most populous city and the 53rd largest metropolitan area in the United States (2014).
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