The 2021 Tucson Gem & Mineral Show, hosted every year at the Tucson Convention Center, has been canceled due to the pandemic.
The wildly popular event is part of the Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase, which occupies more than 50 venues around town in January and February and brings in people from around the globe.
Hosted by the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society since 1955, the main show at the TCC is often referred to as the largest, oldest and most prestigious gem and mineral show in the world.
The hospitality industry has been particularly hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. These cities have a disproportionate number of hospitality workers and have experienced high levels of unemployment.
In a news release Tuesday, the society announced its decision to cancel the main show, citing coronavirus concerns and wanting to protect volunteers, residents and visitors.
βWe hoped and planned for the best during these difficult days of COVID-19 but find events have conspired to force us to the painful decision to take 2021 off and focus on bringing things back at a higher level in 2022,β the release said. βMost importantly, TGMS does not want to be responsible for a single COVID-19 fatality or serious illness. Our show is run by volunteers and many of us are in high-risk demographics, as are many of our participants and attendees.β
Event leaders said they consulted with public health officials on how they could modify the event in 2021, but that COVID-19 related risks βmake it impossible for TGMS to put on anything more than a shadow of our accustomed vibrant event.β The public show includes a variety of exhibits, educational programs, networking events and is attended by thousands of people both locally and around the world.
Officials also said restrictive COVID-19 travel policies could cause problems for many of their domestic and international museum exhibitors and attendees.
The collective Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase is the cityβs largest tourism-related event, bringing in about $130 million annually. With the main show canceled, itβs unclear if other gem shows at venues throughout the city will follow suit.
Next yearβs show was supposed to be highlighted by the grand opening of the University of Arizona Alfie Norville Gem and Mineral Museum, which is being constructed in the historic Pima County Courthouse in the heart of downtown.
βWe promise to pull out all the stops to bring you an unparalleled group of eye-popping fluorescent mineral exhibits, colorful minerals and gems from around the world, and some special surprises to shake everyone out of their post-Covid lethargy. See you in 2022," the society's release said.
Photos of the Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase through the years
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The 1967 show at the Tucson Rodeo and Fairgrounds drew a modest crowd. After its 1955 beginnings in a school auditorium, the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society moved its annual show to the Quonset hut at the Tucson Rodeo and Fairgrounds on South Sixth Ave., at Irvington Road.
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Exterior of Quonset on South Sixth Ave site ofΒ Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase, 1956-1971.
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Louise Feller of Seattle looks for some gems at the Tucson Convention Center in 1991.
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Dealers preparing their displays near I-10 and Congress in 1991.Β
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Mike Donovan of Texas looks at a 20-foot Pleisiosaur at the Tucson Convention Center in 1991.
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Tucson Convention Center full of exhibitors and buyers in 1993.
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Nickolai B. Kuznetsov and Alexander O. Agafonoff from Russia prepare their exhibit in a room at the Best Western Executive Inn in Tucson in 1993.Β
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Dilip Shah of New York City conducts business while laying on his bed at the Discovery Inn in 1994.
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David Velk checks out some of the various Trilobites which were only one of many fossil exhibits at the gem and mineral showcase Fossil Exhibit at the Executive Inn in 1995.
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The first public day of the Tucson Gem & Mineral Society Show was a busy affair at the Tucson Convention Center in 1997.
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Gem show vendor Albert Volker, sits with his sizable collection of smokey quartz in 1998, mined by himself on his ranch in Montana. Vollker was one of the last participants doing business as most others packed up to leave.
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Tom Moore. Editor of the Mineralogical Record magazine, shows this drawer which has Apatite, Pyromorphite, Mimetite, and Vanadinite in 2005.
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Colored glass jewels glimmer with at least some of the sparkle of their rarer counterparts at the Globe-X Gem & Mineral show at the Days Inn Downtown in 2007.
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Yurie Ishizaka of Tokyo looks in display cases during the first day of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center on February 10, 2011.
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Rocks, shells, and minerals for sale at the Miner K booth at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center in 2011.
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Naoki Ninomiya examines a piece of Smithsonite from Mexico by putting it up to the light during the Arizona Mineral and Fossil Show as part of the 58th AnnualΒ Tucson Gem, Mineral, and Fossil Showcase at the Hotel Tucson City Center in 2012.
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Mike Anglin from Mission Viejo, Calif looks at agate from Argentina at the STPGM booth during the opening day of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center in 2012.
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A variety of Rose Quartz, Crystals, Tourmaline and Red Jasper glisten in the sunlight at Jay Gems and Minerals as they are on display at the Riverpark Inn at 350 South Freeway for the upcoming Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase on Jan. 23, 2017.
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Robert Tapia, left, and Jason Fox, warehouse manager at Superb Minerals, set up for the annual Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase which begins on January 26 and ends February 11. The store located at 1243 N. Main Ave sells zeolites from India. January 02, 2018.
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Matthew Schmalz browses through polished agate geodes as he's framed by a slice of amethyst quartz in the Western Woods tent at the Pueblo Gem and Mineral Show at the Riverpark Inn, 777 W. Cushing Street, on Jan. 24, 2018, in Tucson.
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Scott Sprencz, right, and Ed Kloehn, haul in an onyx luminary for the "Art of Decor Onyx" booth at the Tucson 22nd Street Mineral and Fossil Show, located on the northeast corner of 22nd Street and Interstate 10, on Jan. 24, 2018, in Tucson.
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Mike Pendle, from the United Kingdom, scrutinizes a quart point at the Tucson 22nd Street Mineral and Fossil Show, located on the northeast corner of 22nd Street and Interstate 10, on Jan. 24, 2018, in Tucson, Ariz.
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Tsiriry Anjarihva sorts hand-carved decorative heart pieces for display while workers at the Madagascar Minerals Gem Show, 201 W. Lester St., prepare for the 2019 Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase, Jan. 23, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. Eighty percent of the minerals on display at Madagascar Minerals are direct from the company's mines and factories in Madagascar.
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Zoey Petitt selects a bag of green opals to buy at the Madagascar Minerals Gem Show, 201 W. Lester St., Jan. 23, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. Eighty percent of the minerals on display at Madagascar Minerals are direct from the company's mines and factories in Madagascar.
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Celia Tessier, left, and Emma Martinez, 16, huddle together and stay warm as they examine a crystal they are weighing for a customer in the Cristais Maia booth at the Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase iin 2016. Martinez helps out at the Brazilian business annually during the show.
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Wade Leschyn, center, is dwarfed by the fossils of "Bob" the triceratops, left, and a wooly mammoth fossil from Russia at the GeoDecor booth at the Mineral and Fossil Co-op show, 1635 N. Oracle Road, Feb. 7, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz. The co-op's show, part of the the larger Tucson Gem, Mineral and Fossil Showcase.
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Kate Mull, right, and her daughter Grace, both visiting from West Virginia, sport their t-shirts Kate bought especially for the gem show as they browse the displays at Rosman Gems at the Mineral and Fossil Co-op show, 1635 N. Oracle Road, Feb. 7, 2019, in Tucson, Ariz.
