The Pasadena Lapidary Society will hold its September program meeting at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, September 16 in the Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., in Arcadia.
This month’s meeting, open to all ages and free of charge, aims to educate and engage the public in mineralogy, earth sciences, and the lapidary arts, with refreshments, displays, and opportunities for participants to have rocks identified.
“Our main speaker for the September program meeting will be Mary Pat Weber, geologist and mineral collector, who will present ‘The Colorful Condor Agates of Argentina,’” the society announced.
“She will present the amazing story of how these agates were discovered, lost, and re-discovered in a remote, inhospitable region high in the foothills of the Andes Mountains.”
Condor agates are “colorful, tightly banded agates and patterned agates found in the mountains near San Rafael, in Mendoza Province, Argentina,” and they “have become a popular stone among collectors and jewelry designers.”
Specimens from Mary Pat Weber’s personal collection will be on display at the meeting.
There will also be a short talk at this meeting “in the form of a recap of our members’ experiences at Camp Paradise, a California Federation of Mineralogical Societies-sponsored lapidary and jewelry camp.”
“As a group, we attended every class offered this year. We learned new things and made beautiful projects.”
Camp Paradise “offers two one-week sessions each August for members of California Federation of Mineralogical Societies affiliated clubs such as Pasadena Lapidary Society.”
The announcement encourages, “Come learn about this wonderful experience and make your plans for next year.”
The Pasadena Lapidary Society, founded in 1946, is “a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating members and the public about mineralogy, earth sciences, and the lapidary and jewelry arts.”
The group “hosts field trips, workshops, outreach presentations, public mineral displays, an annual show, and monthly meetings open to the public.”
It offers “hands-on learning in areas like rock and mineral collecting, earth sciences, and jewelry making,” and “also works to promote ethical mineral resource stewardship.”
The society’s regular activities include monthly program meetings open to the public, held every third Tuesday at 7 p.m., as well as lapidary workshops on the second Saturday of each month and an annual gem and mineral show, typically in March.
“The society encourages all ages to appreciate and join in rockhounding and lapidary arts, with special programs for youth and newcomers.”
Those interested can contact the Pasadena Lapidary Society for more information at info@pasadenalapidary.org or by phone at (626) 260-7239 and (727) 512-0381.
Additional resources and updates are available at https://pasadenalapidary.org
Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia. For more call (626) 260-7239 or (727) 512-0381 or visit https://pasadenalapidary.org. Tickets: Free.
