By Brad Jones
GPAA Managing Editor
Gold Prospectors Association of America chapters will host three gold shows this summer and fall and at least nine official GPAA Gold & Treasure Shows are planned for next year. GPAA Chapters Coordinator Aley Aragon has been working with several local prospecting clubs that are sponsoring shows planned in California, Texas and Oklahoma. The first show is slated for Sonora, Calif. in late August, the second is set for Abilene, Texas in September and the third will be held in Oklahoma City, Okla. in October. Admission is $5 and children 12 and under are admitted free. The first 100 paid attendees will receive a free vial of gold.
Alaska Gold Expedition trip prize giveaways
All three events will include the ever popular two-week Alaska Gold Expedition trip prize giveaways to Cripple River Mining Camp near Nome, Alaska. Trip prizes will be awarded each day of each show.
Sonora, Calif.
The Gold & Outdoor Festival show in Sonora, Calif. will kick off the fall show circuit Saturday, Aug. 23 to Sunday,Aug. 24.
Two special metal detecting hunts — Treasure Questing and Claim Jumper — sponsored by Minelab will offer participants the chance to try out Minelab metal detectors and find $3,000 worth of buried treasure.
GPAA Executive Director of Operations Dominic Ricci explained how the two events differ. The Treasure Questing hunts are non-competitive and are designed to teach newcomers how to metal detect, whereas the Claim Jumper event is a competition.
"We're ecstatic to have Minelab sponsor the Claim Jumper hunt as well as the Treasure Questing event," Ricci said.
"The Claim Jumper hunts are a series of competitive hunts open to everyone. You can bring your own metal detector, or purchase one from Infinite Detector Solutions, an authorized Minelab dealer on site," he said.
But, for novice metal detectorists, who want a hands-on lesson, the Treasure Questing hunt is an ideal place to learn.
"If you want get started at metal detecting and see what it's all about, then you'll want to participate in the Treasure Questing hunts," he said. "Don't worry if you don't have a detector. Minelab will supply some demo units for you to use. You'll receive some basic hands-on training on how the detector works, including settings, sounds and technology. Then, you'll set foot to find coins and clad. There will be plenty of prizes and yes, you can participate more than once."
Showgoers are asked to register for the Minelab-sponsored events once they arrive at the show.
Abilene, Texas
The Gold & Treasure Expo in Abilene, Texas will be loaded with major prizes and trip giveaways.
"Aside from the Alaska Gold Expedition prizes the local GPAA chapters chapter will announce other special trip giveaways at the show," Aragon said.
"Texas is going to be very exciting show and will feature world-renowned treasure hunter and best-selling author W.C. Jameson as a keynote speaker," Aragon said "He has written more than 1,500 articles and, 320 songs and has dozens of published poems."
Jameson has written about Old West legends Billy The Kid and Butch Cassidy, among others. And, he is currently writing another book about American aviation pioneer and author Amelia Earhart, the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Jameson, who has been featured on the Travel Channel and Unsolved Mysteries, is the real-life adventurer who inspired the Crocodile Dundee character played on the big screen by Paul Hogan, Aragon said. He was also an advisor during the filming of National Treasure, starring Nicolas Cage.
"He's a real-life treasure hunter!"
Oklahoma City, Okla.
The Oklahoma City show in October promises to be loaded with $10,000 worth of prizes over and above the Alaska Gold Expedition trip giveaways, Aragon said.
The GPAA's Kevin Hoagland is the keynote speaker for this event. Hoagland is a seasoned gold prospector and metal detectorist. Other topics will range from geology to lost treasure.
Buy and sell gold!
Showgoers will not only have the opportunity to buy gold, but they'll have a chance to sell some as well, she said.
GPAA's role
"These are chapter shows and the GPAA will play a supporting role for our local chapters," Aragon said.
All of the usual fixtures such as the perfect panning chapter booth and the main GPAA membership booth will be at the shows.
Panning zones
Each chapter will set up their panning zone, much like the popular GPAA Gold Panning Zone at the official Gold and Treasure Expos last spring.
"The panning zones are going to be expanded," she said.
Is gold easy to find?
Executive Director of Operations Dominic Ricci said the GPAA Gold and Treasure Shows were started decades ago by GPAA founder George "Buzzard" Massie to introduce people to prospecting and show them how and where to find their own gold.
"We encourage everyone to bring their family and friends because there is no better place to get started, and learn how to find your own gold. There is plenty of fun and activities for all ages... from gold panning to learning about other equipment and processes that will help you find gold as well as informative seminars," Ricci said.
"Many newbies ask if they can make a living at prospecting for gold. The truth is that some can, but most don't," he said. "It's really no different than any other sport or activity. If you like to golf, do you think you have what it takes to become the next Tiger Woods?"
Our mission
Gold prospecting remains a popular American pastime, especially with the price of gold hovering steady around $1,300 an ounce.
The GPAA is committed to preserving the heritage of the North American prospector, teaching people how and where they can find gold and showing them the tools and equipment needed to find it. It is also a way to get people off the couch and outdoors to enjoy time with their friends as family.
"It's the draw of the fresh mountain air, camping, the out-of-doors. It's good physical exercise and keeps you fit, and if you find gold in your pan, it's a bonus!" Ricci said. "The thrill is in the hunt. The gold is just a reward. Being outdoors, fresh air, the tranquility of listening to the sound of water flowing in the creek is almost as enticing as the gold."
Gold prospecting is really another great excuse to get out into nature with family and friends, he said.
"Yes, you can buy gold, for a staggering $1,300 an ounce, or you can scoop it up from the streams and ground near your home at the cost of a sore back, wet feet, maybe a few bug bites — offset by an incredible sense of thrill and accomplishment. That's the promise of what we call gold fever, a pastime that has caught the imagination of young families and retirees from all across the United States and world for that matter. Most people recognize, of course, that the chances of finding huge gold nuggets are slim at best, which is why prospecting today remains a challenge and is as much about recreation as riches," Ricci said.
Bigger, better shows planned for 2015
The GPAA has also announced a tentative lineup of nine official GPAA Gold & Treasure Shows for 2015.
GPAA Trade Show Manager Gene Glenn said next year's shows will be held in larger venues in major urban centers to make them more accessible and appeal to more people.
"We're going to draw more people. It's going to be a better experience for attendees and for vendors as well," Glenn said. "It's going to create a lot more exposure for them and for the GPAA." For more information about next year's shows, please email goldshows@goldprospectors.org.
"I think it's exciting, We're an organization more than a corporation and it really is all about education," Glenn said.
"My hope for the 2015 shows is to appeal to — not only to encourage more families to spend time in nature together but to tie in gold prospecting with other outdoors activities, such as fishing, camping, hiking and off-roading. Why not bring a gold pan with you on your travels? Prospecting is fun and can be very lucrative if you know what you're doing," said Glenn, who is an avid outdoorsman.
"I don't see why there should be a separation between gold prospecting and other outdoor activities."
The Gold & Treasure Shows are a one-stop shop for everything you need to go find your own gold.
"They are family events so the kids are going to want to come and get involved," Glenn said. "Bring the kids and let them pan for real gold and try metal detecting. There's really something for everybody no matter what your skill level — including newbies who don't know the first thing about gold or small-scale mining."
The focus on larger urban centers is designed to introduce more newcomers to the world of prospecting.
"Prospecting, to this point, has been something that's almost exclusively generational. It's a pastime that's handed down — an experience that kids have had with their parents, like Tom Massie had with his dad George Massie, and then handed down to his kids. George really built the GPAA from something that was a hobby — a couple of kids their dad and a gold pan and techniques that you
can learn at these shows."
With the modern technology such as metal detectors, GPS and new, lightweight equipment, mining gold has never been easier.
"Most people have no idea or don't think it's something that's even possible," Glenn said. "They don't know how to find gold or where gold comes from, and that's what the GPAA has to offer them."
2015 Gold & Treasure Shows
- Pomona, Calif., Feb. 7-8
- Mesa, Ariz., Feb. 28-March 1
- Stockton, Calif., March 7-8
- Portland, Ore., March 28-29
- Boise, Idaho, April 11-12
- Las Vegas, Nev., April 25-26
- Denver, Colo., May 16-17
- Charlotte, N.C., May 30-31
- Knoxville, Tenn., June 6-7
Ricci has asked everyone who plans to attend these shows to please login to your GPAA profile at www.goldprospectors. org and pre-register for the shows. If you have not yet created a profile, it's easy. Click the "Help" button for guidance.
"We're hoping for at least 1,000 people to pre-register each fall show," he said. "The GPAA wants to show that we support our local chapters, vendors and keynote speakers the fall shows."
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