Article as featured in the April/May 2016 Pick & Shovel Gazette
By BRAD JONES
GPAA Managing Editor
Three more Gold & Treasure Shows are set for the West Coast cities of San Francisco, Portland and Seattle in April.
In June, the GPAA road crew heads inland to Boise, Idaho and Denver Colorado, and planning is underway for up to three more shows this fall in the eastern U.S.
Gold Prospectors Association of America President Brandon Johnson has continued the tradition of hosting Gold & Treasure Shows started by GPAA founder George Massie. The shows provide a fun, family-oriented learning environment and offer a hands-on experience for newcomers to the world of gold prospecting.
“The GPAA Gold Panning Zone offers participants a golden opportunity for newbies to learn how to pan for gold and for experienced prospectors to hone their skills,” Johnson said.
Each event is also a great way for local GPAA chapters and state directors, mining rights advocates, leading industry manufacturers, dealers and experts to come together and welcome the public.
“For those who want to get out and find more gold, the shows include a wide range of seminars on gold-prospecting know-how from well-known experts,” Johnson said. The lectures offer instruction on fine gold recovery, local prospecting, geology, filing and maintaining your mining claims, metal detecting basics and techniques to name a few topics.”
The GPAA Gold & Treasure Shows also feature live product demonstrations from the best prospecting and small-scale mining equipment manufacturers in the industry. Dealers offer everything from gold pans, sluice boxes, highbankers
and power sluices to drywashers, clean-up equipment, gold refinery kits, rock crushers, gold dredges and metal detectors.
“This year, our vendors will contribute tens of thousands of dollars worth of equipment to be raffled off at each show to benefit the local prospecting community and mining rights groups who are fighting to keep public lands open,” Johnson said.
The grand prize to be awarded each day of each show is a one-week stay at Roaring Camp in California’s Mother Lode country. For a full list of prizes, featured vendors and seminar speakers, go to www.goldprospectors.org/goldshows.
Fans of the popular GPAA-produced TV series Gold Trails will get a chance to meet host Kevin Hoagland, who will be at each event to sign autographs and pose for pictures with fans.
Registration and advance tickets will be available at half the cost of the regular $10 admission. Children 12 and younger are admitted free.
“Come out and help your son or daughter learn to pan for real gold to take home as a souvenir of their experience,” Johnson said.
“To show our appreciation, members of the military receive free admission with a copy of an active military or veteran identification. The GPAA says thank you for your service and welcomes you to the prospecting community,” Johnson said. “We look forward to seeing you, your family and your friends at the shows.”
For more information about the GPAA Gold & Treasure Shows, go to www.facebook.com/GPAAGoldShows. Then, click on the Events tab near the top of the page, and don’t forget to invite your friends. (See what happened in Vegas!)
Upcoming GPAA Gold & Treasure Shows:
• San Francisco, Calif.
April 2-3
Solano County Fairgrounds
900 Fairgrounds Dr.
Vallejo, CA 94589
• Portland, Ore.
April 9-10
Portland Expo Center
2060 North Marine Dr.
Portland, OR 97217
• Seattle, Wash.
April 16-17
Evergreen State Fairgrounds
14405 179th Ave SE
Monroe, WA 98272
• Boise, Idaho
June 11-12
Expo Idaho
5610 Glenwood
Boise, ID 83714
Website: http://www.expoidaho.com
• Denver, Colo.
June 18-19
Adams County Fair
9755 Henderson Road
Brighton, CO 80601
Brad Jones is the Managing Editor/Communications Director for the Gold Prospectors Association of America and the Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association. He can be reached at bjones@goldprospectors.org