Victoria Lapidary and Mineral Society
Rock and Mineral lovers
If you would like to apply to be a vendor at the Rock and Gem show ’23 please download the form below and follow the instructions.
VLMS Invitation to Apply March 2023 Rock & Gem Show
The show will be held at the Da Vinci Center, 195 Bay St, Victoria, BC V9A 3K4, on March 17th, 18th and 19th, 2023.
Rendezvous 2022 was held in Coombs at the fairground from June 2nd through June 6th, 2022. It was well-attended with both tent and RV campers. Despite changeable weather and rain, the field trips were full and the workshops and demonstrations also filled up. For a taste of what was on offer see the photo albums below (there was more on offer, but these are the events I have photos for).
Field Trips on offer:
At the guide centre we were provided with helmets and headlamps. Our guide, Ryan, took us on a 20 minute walk uphill to the cave entrance. The walk is dotted with interpretive signs of the landscape. The entrance to Big Bend Cave is gated and locked. The floor of the cave is in its natural state as a river bed and requires some nimbleness to navigate.
Click on an image to see it larger, use your arrow keys to move between images
The trip to Mt Arrowsmith afforded the chance to see Dallasite in its original form as part of basalt pillow lava as well as red, green, blue(ish) and purple jaspers. Thanks go to Jim Jeffs (Parksville club) for leading the trip, providing insightful explanations and organizing the gates to be unlocked for access.
Mt Arrowsmith Access
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Formation of basalt pillows: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KCFOy26jFg
The Argonaut mine is an idle open pit iron mine. Active from 1951 until 1957 its minerals were used in the steel manufacturing industry. Minerals to be found are magnetite, garnet skarn, epidote skarn, calcite, marble, pyrite, limestone, diorite and actinolite. The trip was led by Jim McKinnon (Parksville club) who provided good interpretation of what was available and how to find it.
Introduction by Jim McKinnon
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Gary Veitch from the Duncan club demonstrated how he carves rock bowls. He uses a Makita Wet Stone polisher that he has modified to keep the powdered rock out of the workings. Gary shapes and sands the outside before starting on the inside. It takes a couple of days to produce a finished bowl from a rock.
Videos of the process (playlist with 5 short videos)
Russ Ball from the Courtney club explained how he uses an air scribe to clean out the matrix surrounding fossils to better expose the structure.
Allison Gallant and Cari Taylor (Victoria Club) stepped in at short notice to give a great workshop on making a Tree of Life pendant.
Here are some of the showcases set up in the Arrowsmith Hall
Island Area Rocks and Minerals: there is a lot of information in each picture, so I’ve left the picture size large – click on a picture to see it bigger, or download it to enlarge it even more.
Rocks of the USA by Grant and Angela Bailey. there is a lot of information in each picture, so I’ve left the picture size large – click on a picture to see it bigger, or download it to enlarge it even more.
Unusual fossils from the Vancouver Island Cretaceous: there is a lot of information in each picture, so I’ve left the picture size large – click on a picture to see it bigger, or download it to enlarge it even more.
Vancouver Island Rocks
Our auctioneer in action
| Register for Rendezvous 2022 June 2 – 6, Coombs Fair Grounds, Coombs |
| Dear members and rock enthusiasts, We would like to alert you to that the registration form for Rendezvous 2022 scheduled for June 2 – 6, 2022 at the Coombs Fair Grounds in Coombs, BC is now on our web site. Rendezvous is our Society’s annual gathering which has taken place since 1958 (well, until the COVID pandemic). Rendezvous 2022 will feature:Field TripsCamaraderieMini Rock Show and SaleBCLS Annual General MeetingThis year Rendezvous and Gemboree have been combined into a single larger-than-usual event focused on bringing us all back together after 2 years of COVID retreat. Rendezvous 2022 will be hosted by our Vancouver Island clubs including Victory Lapidary and Mineral Society, Cowichan Valley Rockhounds, Parksville & District Rock & Gem, Courtenay Gem and Mineral Club, Alberni Valley Rock & Gem, Ripple Rock Gem & Mineral Club (Vancouver Island Zone). Visit our web site at the URL below for the registration form and everything Rendezvous. Let’s make a point of getting back together again and rocking BC! https://www.bclapidary.com/rock-hunting-rendezvous.php Sincerely, Andrew Danneffel BCLS President president@bclapidary.com 604-323-4273 |
Hi Everyone,
Our five Vancouver Island Clubs are collaboratively hosting the BCLS “Rendezvous 2022” in conjunction with our Gemboree this year from Thursday June 2nd to Monday June 6th at the Coombs Agricultural Fairgroungs. We are really looking forward to much needed and overdue commraderie amongst all BCLS rock hounders. We have a busy fun weekend planned and the blog and registration form are now posted on the BCLS website. Registrations are already coming in.
We will be looking for each of our Vancouver Island clubs to contribute to the success of this event. We will be needing volunteers for setting up, hospitality, registration, workshops, demonstrations, book sales, rock auction, kiddies corner and other activities. Any time you can volunteer during this event will be greatly appreciated.
Please let your Club Zone reps know if and when you are able to help out. Thank you!
We are looking forward to a really good turnout and fun active long weekend.
Hope to see you there!
Cynthia Jones, PDRG Zone rep cynthialj50@icloud.com
Committee chair
The first evening of Gemboree 2019 had an open-air wire wrapping workshop in the big central canopy. It was a blast. Over half the gemboree attendees particpated and the rest formed a relaxed cheering team. The workshop was led by Suzanne Rivard, whose work can be seen at www.suzannart.com. Suzanne was patient and encouraging with a slightly rowdy crowd whose abilities ranged from beginner to been-doing-this-for-ages. The results were beautiful and each one worth wearing. Some of us continued redesigning our pieces for the rest of the weekend.
To download full resolution photos click Wire Wrapping Workshop .
To view the pictures below as a slideshow, click directly on a picture.
One of the field trips on offer at the 2019 Gemboree was to the Calco Copper mine north of Campbell River. In 1955 five tonnes of ore were removed and sent to Tacoma for processing. It yielded 1011 kg of copper and 250g of silver. The mine is on private property and requires permission to access. The trip was led by
On the way back to Courtney we stopped at the viewpoint for the historic Ripple Rock explosion, a short documentary on youtube. It was the biggest manmade explosion of the time and it took them several failed attempts before they could pull it off.
To download full resolution photos click here Calco Copper Mine
To view the pictures as a slideshow, click directly on a picture.
