GPAA: Gold & Treasure Expo set for Oklahoma City, Oct. 11-12
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (PRWEB) August 22, 2014 -- The Oklahoma City chapter of the Gold Prospectors Association of America will hold a Gold & Treasure Expo in Oklahoma City, Okla, Oct. 11-12 at the Oklahoma State Fair Park - Expo Hall, 333 Gordon Cooper Blvd., Oklahoma City, OK 73107. Learn how and where to find gold at this special event, which is open to the public.
The GPAA invites the public to attend the expo for a chance to learn how to prospect and mine for their own gold and win major prizes. Participants will get a chance to pan for real gold at the shows, attend lectures on gold prospecting, and check out the latest and greatest selection of small-scale mining equipment from vendors. Admission is $5 and children 12 and under are admitted free. The first 100 paid attendees will receive a free vial with gold. Show hours are Saturday, Oct. 11, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 12, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Part of the proceeds from the event will go to the Public Lands for the People, said event organizer Mike Pung.
The Oklahoma City event in October is one of three GPAA late summer and fall Gold & Treasure Shows. The Gold & Outdoor Festival in Sonora, Calif. will be held Aug. 23-24 and the Gold & Treasure Expo in Abilene, Texas will be held Sept. 6-7.
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.
GPAA 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 learn how to find your own gold. There is plenty of fun and activities for all ages, from gold panning to small-scale mining equipment demonstrations to gold prospecting seminars,” Ricci said.
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. Gold prospecting is really another great excuse to get off the couch and head out into nature to enjoy time spent with family and friends, he said.
“It’s the draw of the fresh air, camping, and getting outdoors. It’s good physical exercise and keeps you fit. If you find gold in your pan, it’s a bonus!” Ricci said. “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, and maybe a few bug bites. 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 the world. Today, gold prospecting remains a challenge and is as much about recreation as riches.”
Local Oklahoma City GPAA Chapter President Mike Pung, will be at the Gold & Treasure Expo along with other GPAA members who will be there to introduce newcomers to gold prospecting.
The Gold Panning Zone is for all ages and the Scavenger Hunt for the young gold prospectors are always popular activities at every gold show, Pung said. “We’ll teach them how to pan for gold! I’ll be there and so will other experienced GPAA chapter members.”
Although there will be lots of gold and hand-crafted jewelry at the show, Pung emphasized the Gold & Treasure Expo is more about learning how and where to find gold — and not a gold jewelry show.
Pung, co-inventor of the Gold Cube, is also the Oklahoma Prospectors Chapter 21 OKC local GPAA Chapter president.
At the expo, parents can get the basic know-how, and gold mining equipment they need to head outdoors and create memories with their kids. The first step is simply to get to the show, and gold fever will take care of the rest, he said.
“When they get gold in their pan, you can watch the kids’ faces light up,” Pung said. “We’ll be creating little gold diggers.”
Gold prospecting is more than a good excuse to get the kids away from the computers, TVs, and video games; it’s a great way to bond and experience nature with them.
“The kids can come out and do something that requires more than thumb co-ordination. You can use your whole hand when you’re panning for gold and your whole body when you get out prospecting.”
Major prizes valued at more than $10,000, including metal detectors, gold mining equipment and, of course, the Gold Cube will be raffled off at the show. Seminars led by gold prospectors, metal detectorists, gem experts and a local metallurgist are also planned.
The GPAA has also announced a tentative lineup of nine official GPAA Gold & Treasure Shows for 2015: 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 and Knoxville, Tenn., June 6-7.
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 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. My hope for the 2015 shows is 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,” Glenn said.
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, a gold pan and techniques that you can learn at these shows.”
With the modern technology, such as metal detectors, GPS and new, light-weight equipment, mining gold has never been easier.
“Most people have no idea or don’t think it’s even possible,” Glenn said. “They don’t know how to find gold or where gold is found, and that’s what the GPAA has to offer them.”
Pre-registration is key: Everyone who plans to attend these shows is asked to please log in to your GPAA profile at http://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.
For more information, go to http://www.goldprospectors.org/OKCGoldExpo, call Mike Pung at 405-650-0542 or email him at mcwood(at)iglide(dot)net.
Brad Jones, Gold Prospectors Association of America, http://www.goldprospectors.org, +1 1-800-551-9707 Ext: 164, [email protected]
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