If you are into rocks, minerals, fossils, and just all around rockhound than Quartzsite is the place for you! Every year in January, in a sleepy little town just 20 miles east of the Colorado River on I-10, sits a the town of Quartzsite, Arizona. It has been know since the 1960s as the rockhound’s paradise, coming from far and wide across the globe. It has become the mecca to over a million visitors (mostly in RVs) each year during the January through February months; some would say it’s the pre-show to the epic Tucson Gem & Mineral Show in February.
The show is host to over 2,000 vendors specializing in rocks, gems, minerals, fossils and everything else imaginable; creating one of the world's largest open air flea markets in Quartzsite. Eight major gem and mineral shows as well as vendors of raw and handcrafted merchandise peddle their wares to snowbirds, collectors and enthusiasts, making Quartzsite the place to be the first two months of each year.
Historically, a small mining boom revitalized the town as Quartzsite in 1897 and it remained thus until 1965, when the Pow Wow Rock, Gem & Mineral Show began the rockhound winter migration to Quartzsite each year. These days, the population can swell to almost a million during January and February as rockhounders, jewelers and vendors, mostly in thousands of RVs, attend the eight major gem and mineral shows.
Enjoy and have fun at Quartzsite list of shows below.
Show 2011
January 01 - February 28, 2011 Desert Gardens -Gem & Mineral
January 07 - January 16, 2011 Tyson Wells Rock & Gem Show
January 08 - January 23, 2011 Main Event
January 21 - January 30, 2011 Tyson Wells Sell-A-Rama
January 22 - January 30, 2011 Sports, Vacation & RV Show
February 2 -February 6. 2011 Hobby Craft & Gem Show
February 4 - February 13, 2011 Tyson Wells Arts & Craft Fair
The next stop……the “Big Show” Tucson Gem & Mineral Show!!