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Our New York Mineralogical Club held its annual gala dinner in early October, and once again it was in our opinion the “must-attend” event of the year. Joe and I invited some friends to the gala, the theme was Ruby, and we assembled beforehand at the hotel lobby bar of the Holiday Inn Midtown, which has hosted the event the past three years.

Then, as in years prior, the silent auction begins at 6pm, and for 45 minutes you have 40-75 members and their guests hovering over an assembly of museum quality gem and mineral specimens, gem and mineral artwork, and geology and paleontology books and out-of-print journals until…

Mitch P., President of the club, and host of the evening calls “time.”

After everyone has settled their debt, then more fun continues. The opening remarks are my personal favorite of the night, as Mitch has created a quiz or trivia game, honors special guests, shares anecdotes about prominent members of the club, and inserts humor all along. This year one of his friends had presented him with a special “ruby” collector’s baseball card of New York Yankee Derek Jeter. Mitch parlayed that into a musical tribute and slideshow to Derek Jeter that livened the crowd. Following the DJ tribute, our special guests were honored. In the audience, and we were fortunate enough to sit at their table, was the President of the Island Rockhounds, Janice Kowalski, and Past-President and Eastern Federation officer Cheryl Neary. Mitch offered awards for “Best Dressed” with respect to the Ruby theme, and one guest actually wore ruby slippers. Every guest that evening was dressed in the ruby spirit and theme.

The speaker of the evening was an accomplished geologist and scholar who spoke of his journeys through Asia for ruby and for peridot. The night was a perfect blend of fine dining, a choice or fish, beef, or chicken, red or white wine, laughter, prizes, education, scholarship, and fellowship.

To learn more about the New York Mineralogical Club, and its events, and its November Gem and Mineral Show, please contact us for more information, or an introduction. The November gem and mineral show that the club hosts at the Holiday Inn Midtown is the perfect opportunity to meet members, enjoy the gem, minerals, and fossils on display and for sale, and enjoy a weekend in Midtown West. Courtesy of the New York Mineralogical Club, here are discount passes to the gem show.

Ruby A to Z Poster

