The Raft River Rockhounds and the BC Lapidary Society will be hosting Rendezvous 2012 from May 18 - 21 at the North Thompson Sportsplex. The event is open to the public May 19 and 20 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A mini show is planned at which Kamerovich Originals from Calgary will be selling items such as rocks, crystals, and minerals, and a vendor from Victoria, B.C. will have books and magazines for sale. There will also be rock and mineral display cases with numerous stones from B.C. and around the world. The rendezvous will also have demonstrations of rock polishing, how to make jewelry and more. Information booths for Yellowhead Mining, the District of Clearwater and the Raft River Rockhounds will be on site. Admission is by donation only.
If you would like to participate in the whole weekend, you are required to have a membership for insurance purposes, which you can purchase from the Raft River Rockhounds. The rendezvous will begin with registration on Friday night; Saturday and Sunday there will be field trips within the Clearwater area. The group looks forward to taking their guests out to enjoy our beautiful area, looking for stones, minerals and gold panning. Saturday night will feature a rock auction with some amazing stones and minerals from all over the world. Sunday evening will be a dinner for members at the KOA banquet room, followed by the annual general meeting and will finish up with a pancake breakfast Monday morning, which will also be held at the KOA.
Raft River Rockhounds now have their own club house located at the On Call industrial site in Blackpool. Meetings are every third Saturday at 1 p.m. New members are welcome. Registration fees are $30 single and $50 family.
Raft River Rockhounds is a warm friendly club which includes a few socials, field trips to hunt for minerals and stones within the area and to gain knowledge of Clearwater and area. Courses will be offered in the fall on faceting, rock polishing, beading, and more. The club would like to thank Denny Patrick for his donation to the club of three rock tumblers/grinding supplies, rock polisher and a rock cutter. Raft River Rockhounds will polish rocks for non-members for a fee.
The rendezvous brings rockhounders together from all over B.C. There are currently 34 clubs in B.C., with 1800 members.
The annual Raft River Rockhounds Canada Day Club Show is scheduled for July 1, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Country Inn and Blue Loon Grill grounds. Raft River Rockhounds have teamed up with the Aboriginal Sharing Center and Blue Loon Grill to have numerous events, vendors, and local entertainment for this year’s show.
If you are interested in participating in our club show or would like more information membership please call Fay McCracken at 250-674-2700 or Dave Cooper at 250-587-6213 or email us at raftriverrockhounds@gmail.com.