EARTH’S TREASURES Gem & Mineral Show is held each year in early October at the Nevada County Fairgrounds in Grass Valley . This year’s show, October 6 & 7, featured twenty vendors offering gems, minerals, fossils, florescent minerals, lapidary supplies, beads and supplies, jewelry, gold prospecting supplies and metal detectors and more.
Demonstrations
Attendees were treated with cool displays of Mineral and Fossil Collections and Demonstrations of bead making, cabachons, wire wrapping, gold panning and intarsia. The club ensures fun activities for kids, too, including a kids corner and scavenger hunt included free with admittance (free for those under 13 years of age).
Displays
Featured was Gold Extravaganza, a display of local gold that included a bear carved from gold bearing quartz from the Original Sixteen to One Mine, the oldest operating gold mine in North America. Mike Miller, owner of the 16 to 1 gave fascinating talks about the history and workings of the mine. The mine produces beautiful quartz shot through with gold that jewelers, local and far and wide, fashion into rings and other jewelry items.
Silent Auctions and Raffles
Silent auction items, refreshed every hour, and raffle tickets drawn throughout the day afforded enthusiastic attendees the opportunity to grab some awesome rocks and minerals at some awesome, affordable prices!
The Club
The Nevada County Gem and Mineral Society meets the first Tuesday of each month at 7:00 PM at Golden Empire Guild, 11363 Grange Court, Grass Valley, CA. All are welcome to come to meetings. Membership dues are $25.00 annually for individuals and $30.00 for families. Persons under 18, living at home may be included in a family membership. $5 may be subtracted from the dues if you take the newsletter via email only. Members are treated to informative programs at meetings and can participate in field trips to collect specimens, often in partnership with other clubs.
Nevada County Lifestyle
Our rock club is one of numerous opportunities to enjoy the lifestyle of the foothills. Folks come from Nevada City, Grass Valley, Penn Valley, South County and all parts of the greater San Francisco Bay Area to enjoy the many shows, events, and activities that abound here in Nevada County.
Come on down and enjoy this amazing place where we are so fortunate to live and play!
With fall now here in Nevada County, and our love of pumpkin spiced everything. Our thoughts start to move toward Halloween. Pumpkins and skeletons everywhere! There is another, lesser known holiday (by most Americans), celebrated after Halloween on November 2nd and 3rd called Day of the Dead (Dia De Los Muertos). Yes. It sounds scary and maybe sounds inappropriate for young children but it’s really quite the opposite. In our home, ever since our oldest was about 2 we have celebrated Day of the Dead. This is a time to celebrate all of our loved ones (pets too) who have passed on. We put up pictures of those who have passed and make their favorite foods. We invite friends to join us and bring pictures, food and stories of their departed loved ones as well. We have a feast and share all the wonderful memories we have of those who are no longer with us. We are able to pass their memory on to our children. Our children are able to share the memories they have of their grandfathers, grandmothers and aunts as well as their goats, chickens, cats and other treasured pets. They benefit from hearing stories the adults have to tell, too. In a sense, it seems to take away some of the mystery of death and makes it more of a celebration of that person’s life. It also normalizes the conversation of the circle of life and keeps their memory alive.
Every year in Grass Valley, Nevada County Fairgrounds holds an Alter Show. This is a time people can, in a very creative way, put a memorial together of loved ones who have died. It’s a great way to see an aspect of this celebration. And it is one of many celebrations we have in Nevada County that makes living here in Nevada City, Grass Valley, Alta Sierra, Penn Valley and surrounding communities such a blessing.
The recent Disney movie, COCO, is a grand celebration of Dia De Los Muertos. It is appropriate for all ages and a wonderful family experience that illustrates and educates us about this wonderful and meaningful cultural experience!
The five Rotary Clubs in Nevada County joined together to give away free trees in support of Rotary’s Earth Day 2018 objective of planting a tree for every Rotarian. Rotary’s International President, Ian H.S. Risley, challenged every one of more than 52,000 Rotary Clubs worldwide to help protect the environment and curb climate change in a sustainable way by planting a tree for each of more than 2 million Rotarians. One of many ways Nevada County Rotary gives back to our communities.
One of the wonderful reasons we love Nevada County is the plethora of opportunities to give back to our community. More non-profits per capita than any other county in the State of California make this amazing place home. The Rotary Club of Nevada City, The Nevada City 49er Breakfast Rotary Club, The Rotary Club of Grass Valley, The Rotary Club of Grass Valley South, and the Rotary Club of Penn Valley joined forces, as they often do, to make it happen to give back to communities in Nevada City, Grass Valley, Penn Valley and surrounding communities.
Rotary Gives Away 400 Ponderosa Pines in 3 Hours!
Young Ponderosa Pine Trees
An so, on Saturday January 13, Rotary’s Free Tree Giveaway was on! 400 Ponderosa Pines, purchased from CalForest Nurseries were given away to interested folks in or local community. Why Ponderosa Pines? CalForest Nurseries recommends Ponderosa Pines: They are native to the area, are stable and sturdy trees able to withstand high winds, are beautiful trees that help with erosion control and can grow to 50-90 feet high, can live up to 250 years, and water requirements are between 12 and 40 inches a year. We appreciate CalForest Nurseries partnership, making available 400 your trees at an affordable cost. CalForest gives back!
Truly a Nevada County community event, our local newspaper, The Union, assisted with advertising and promotion and offered the drive-through parking lot in Grass Valley for Rotary to stage the giveaway. KNCO Radio in Grass Valley welcomed local Rotarians to discuss the event for an hour of air time. YubaNet helped promote the event on line. Ron Knauss, a longtime Rotarian with the Nevada City Rotary Club and an expert in forestry helped determine best planting timing and assisted with planting and care instructions.
Larry Davis, a member of the Rotary Club of Grass Valley South provided the clubs with invaluable assistance, managing the project and putting together an excellent pamphlet of Tree Planting Instructions: Guidelines for Selecting The Perfect Location, Digging The Hole, Filling The Hole, and Care. Since many tree enthusiasts are enlisting their children in the tree planting effort, the pamphlet is central to educating the young tree farmers as to the importance of planting and caring for our trees.
400 Local Carbon Sequestration & Oxygen Generating Machines To the Rescue!
Tree planters visited us from Nevada City, North San Juan, Grass Valley, South County and Penn Valley among other communities and were asked to regale us with pictures, videos, or written stories of their trees. We eagerly await those stories. Their trees will reduce carbon in the environment and deliver oxygen at the same time. Great job Nevada County.
California Arts Council announced Monday July 10 that Nevada City and Grass Valley have been designated a combined State Cultural District. We are one of only 14 areas in the State of California to have been awarded such recognition. The California Cultural Districts Program celebrates the state’s artistic and cultural assets and diversity.
Rock On Nevada City & Grass Valley
Nevada City and Grass Valley are recognized by the Arts Council as a “well defined geographic area with high concentrations of cultural resources and activities”. Nevada County is the only county in the State of California to have two Cultural Districts and are among only four rural districts recognized by the program. No surprise at all to denizens of the area who live in Nevada City, Grass Valley, Penn Valley, Auburn and surrounding communities and take advantage of the manifold opportunities to enjoy and participate in arts, music, storytelling and many other cultural offerings that take place year round here.
Best Of Both Worlds, Small Town Living Amidst The Trees…& Arts
We know it…and so shall people not only in the State of California, but nationally and internationally as the rich cultural gifts of the area are showered in the bright lights of the Arts Council’s promotional and advertising activities. We have celebrated many of our areas arts entities in this space, such as the vital Center For The Arts, Music in the Mountains, Miner’s Foundry, KVMR Radio, and the annual Open Studios art trail. There are 53 arts organizations, 33 galleries, studios and museums, 19 live music venues, and 49 places of historical interest in Grass Valley and Nevada City. The Wild and Scenic Film Festival takes place every year in Nevada City and Grass Valley and is considered to be the most important environmental film festival in the country today.
The Sierra Lifestyle At Its Best
Julie Baker, Executive Director of the Center Of The Arts says, “We live in a rural community with remarkable sophistication and a passion for the arts!” The Center will host the 21st Annual California WorldFest this weekend at the Nevada County Fairgrounds (itself a cultural gem here). When queried by clients thinking of moving to Nevada County as to where or not we have culture this is the answer. We sure ain’t just of bunch of rednecks, and if you weren’t a believer before, this ought to get you religion!
The designation of Grass Valley and Nevada City as a California Cultural District is well deserved. We love the Sierra Lifestyle here and the opportunity to participate in making it better,,,and better. Come party with us!
Celebrate America’s birthday with the Annual Independence Day parade in downtown Grass Valley, beginning at 11 am on Tuesday July 4th, the parade will follow Mill and West Main Streets.
The Nevada County Concert Band will perform a pre-parade concert beginning at 10 am. This year’s flyover will be done by the Golden Empire Flying Association of Grass Valley. This year’s Grand Marshall is Craig Hoddy, publisher of the Nevada County Gold magazine. It is suggested that families bring folding chairs and arrive early for best view seating.
Fireworks will begin at 9:30 pm at the Nevada County fairgrounds. The fairgrounds will open at 3 pm. Enjoy live music and entertainment beginning at 4 pm. Food items will be available for purchase.
Discounted tickets for those above 12 years of age are available at the Grass Valley Chamber of Commerce, 128 E. Main St. or online at GrassValleyChamber.com. Admission is free for those 12 and under and military personnel with ID.
The Fourth of July festivities in Grass Valley are super fun as only quintessentially small-town celebrations can be. Come join the fun!
Summer…my favorite time of the year for fresh fruit and vegetables! And Nevada County offers a huge selection of farmers markets to choose from. Grass Valley, Nevada City, Penn Valley and other surroundings area host farmers markets where we can gather great fruit, vegetables and other food items to enjoy. Farm to table at it’s purest and best.
Farmers from around California come to sell their farm fresh items. Here is Nevada County we are blessed to have farmers markets available to us on several different days of the week, and a variety of locations make it convenient. From South Nevada County to Penn Valley the farmers market are sprinkled through out the week in various locations.
My favorite is Thursday Night Market in Downtown Grass Valley. This event takes place On Thursdays evening 5:30pm to 9pm in Historic downtown Grass Valley. Similar to other events downtown Grass Valley throughout the year, Mill Street is closed to traffic and all sorts of vendors set up booths selling everything from fresh fruits to homemade bath soap and more. They are also offer street concerts for your listening enjoyment. Thursday Night Market takes the usual farmers market to a whole new level, supported by Grass Valley’s Downtown Association.
So take a peek below at all your choices. I encourage you to check out the various markets. We are so lucky to have in our back yard so many talented, hard-working local farmers committed to bringing fresh-picked food to out tables!
Local Nevada County Farmers Markets
Tuesdays:
Nevada County Horseman (Nevada County Certified Growers Market)
May 2 – September 26, 2017
Tuesdays, 9:00am – 1:00 pm
10600 Bubbling Wells Road, Grass Valley
Thursdays:
Western Gateway Park (Nevada County Certified Growers Market)
May 4 – November 16, 2017
Thursdays, 9:00am – 1:00 pm
18560 Penn Valley Drive, Penn Valley
Thursday Night Market
June 29, July 6, 13, 20, 27 & August 3, 2017
5:30pm – 9:00pm
Downtown Grass Valley
Saturdays:
Historic North Star House (Nevada County Certified Growers Market)
Muertos
surroundings area host farmers markets where we can gather great fruit, vegetables and other food items to enjoy. Farm to table at it’s purest and best.