Tucson Gem and Mineral Show 2027: Dates, Tickets and Which Shows You Can Enter

The 72nd Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, the one people call the "main show", runs from Thursday February 11 to Sunday February 14, 2027 at the Tucson Convention Center, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Sunday until 4 p.m.), with tickets at $15. It comes at the end of the season, not the start. The wider showcase starts on January 27, 2027, when dozens of other gem, mineral, fossil and bead shows open in tents, hotels and halls around Tucson. Some of those are free and open to anyone. Others are wholesale shows that will turn you away at the door without trade papers. Knowing which is which, and which weeks they run, decides how your trip goes.

Quick facts (checked November 2026)

• Main show: Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, February 11–14, 2027, Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Avenue. Thursday to Saturday 10 a.m.–5 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.–4 p.m.
• Tickets: $15 ($14 plus a $1 Convention Center ticket tax); 2-day ticket $26; children 14 and under free with a paying adult. Friday February 12 is Military and Senior Day (62+), $2 off.
• Where to buy: at the door or the TCC box office (520-791-4101, option 1). The society does not sell tickets itself.
• Whole season: January 27 – February 14, 2027, according to Visit Tucson.
• Free public shows: Kino Gem & Mineral Show (January 28 – February 14) and the Tucson Gem Show on 22nd Street (January 28 – February 14).
• Trade only: GJX (January 30 – February 4) and the G&LW Holidome and Gem Mall (January 28 – February 6).
• Shuttle: free routes between the big satellite shows were run in 2026 by MS Transportation, not the city. 2027 routes were not yet published.

Visitors on the floor of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show at the Tucson Convention Center in February 2011. Image: TGMShowTM, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The main show and the showcase are not the same thing

The show is run by the Tucson Gem and Mineral Society, and its 2027 theme is "Minerals as Art – The Art of Minerals." What sets it apart from the rest of the season is that it is as much an exhibition as a market. Special and guest exhibits bring specimens from museum and private collections into display cases. Retail dealers fill the Exhibition Hall and Ballroom, and educational exhibitors take the Galleria. The 2027 dealer list was "coming soon" when we checked.

Lectures run Thursday to Saturday in the Convention Center meeting rooms, and the Micromount Symposium is on Friday February 12. Collectors of tiny crystals can look under microscopes in the MicroMineral Room in the Galleria. Children get their own corner: the society says over 2,000 children visit the Junior Education area, where University of Arizona earth-science students answer their questions.

Mineral specimens laid out in a display case during the 2012 Tucson show season. Image: Simeon87, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The "Tucson gem show" that fills hotels and road shoulders across town is something else. Visit Tucson lists the 2027 winter showcase as January 27 to February 14. Several of the big shows close before the main show opens: GJX on February 4, the G&LW halls and Colors of the Stone on February 6, and JOGS on February 7. A trip planned only around February 11–14 will miss them. A trip planned only around late January will miss the museum-grade exhibits downtown. If you have one week, decide which you came for.

Shows open to the public

These are the shows whose organisers say anyone can walk in, with 2027 dates from their own sites:

• Kino Gem & Mineral Show, Kino Sports Complex tents, 2500 E. Ajo Way. January 28 – February 14, 2027, with a wholesale-only "jumpstart" day on January 27. Free admission and free parking. Dealers sell both retail and wholesale.
• The Tucson Gem Show on 22nd Street, 993 S. Freeway. January 28 – February 14, 2027, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Tickets are free.
• Colors of the Stone with To Bead True Blue, Casino Del Sol, 5655 W. Valencia Road. January 30 – February 6, 2027, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. from January 31 to February 5, and 10 a.m.–5 p.m. on February 6. Free admission and free parking. This is the one for beads, handmade jewellery and craft supplies: about 1,000 artisan exhibits, with hands-on workshops daily.
• JOGS Tucson Gem & Jewelry Show, Tucson Expo Center, 3750 E. Irvington Road. January 27 – February 7, 2027, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. (4 p.m. on the last day). Trade buyers get in free with documents. Members of the public need a General Admission ticket, $25 plus fees on Eventbrite for 2027; military personnel and veterans get free tickets. No one under 12 is admitted.

Dealer tents at the Kino Sports Complex during the 2012 show season. Image: Simeon87, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Trays of mineral specimens on an open-air dealer's table in Tucson, 2012. Image: Simeon87, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Wholesale and trade-only shows

Some of the best-known names are closed to the public. Turning up without credentials wastes a morning.

• GJX (Gem & Jewelry Exchange), 198 S. Granada, downtown. January 30 – February 4, 2027 (moved from its first-announced February 1–6), Saturday to Wednesday 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Thursday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. GJX calls itself "wholesale-to-the-trade only" and "not open to the public". Buyers need a Jewelers Board of Trade number or a business, resale or tax-exempt certificate dated within two years, proof of employment and photo ID, and must be over 14.
• G&LW Holidome and Gem Mall, 3168 E. Michigan Street. January 28 – February 6, 2027, "open exclusively to qualified members of the trade".
• AGTA GemFair Tucson, the American Gem Trade Association's fair, is at the Tucson Convention Center from January 31 to February 4, 2027, a week before the main show uses the same building. Check AGTA's own registration rules before going.

At JOGS, the organisers say the public "may not have access to wholesale prices" and is more likely to pay retail.

Citrine and amethyst geodes on a dealer's shelves in a show tent, 2012. Image: Simeon87, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Tickets for the main show

The Tucson Gem and Mineral Society does not sell tickets online or directly. You buy them at the door or at the Tucson Convention Center box office (520-791-4101, option 1). Prices for 2027:

• $15 a day, which includes the $1 Convention Center ticket tax.
• $26 for a 2-day ticket.
• Free for children 14 and under with a paying adult.
• $2 off on Friday February 12 for active and retired military and for seniors 62 and over.

With four days and short hours (the doors close at 5 p.m., and at 4 p.m. on Sunday), a 2-day ticket makes sense if you want both the lectures and time with the dealers.

The free shuttle

The City of Tucson's "GemRide" shuttle between the shows has stopped. In 2026 the JOGS organisers said "the City of Tucson will not be providing GemRide shuttle service this year" and that a free shuttle was "provided exclusively by MS Transportation", with buses every 15–20 minutes. G&LW describes the shuttles as "complimentary" and operated by several show promoters. G&LW says maps and schedules are posted online and handed out at hotel concierge desks and show entrances.

The 2026 routes give an idea of how it works. Six colour-coded lines (Blue, Copper, Ruby, Gold, Turquoise and Diamond) linked Kino, JOGS at the Expo Center, the G&LW Holidome, Colors of the Stone at Casino Del Sol and a hub on Simpson Street, mostly from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Diamond line ran from JOGS to AGTA at the Convention Center. Every 2026 route had stopped running by February 4. Routes and dates for 2027 had not been posted in early November. For 2027, Colors of the Stone has announced a Lyft discount instead (up to $15 off rides to or from Casino Del Sol, promo code GEMRIDE, unrelated to the old city shuttle). Do not count on a shuttle to the main show.

Getting to the Convention Center and parking

For the main show you can leave the car behind. The Sun Link streetcar is fare-free, as are Sun Tran buses, and its Granada/Cushing stop is on South Granada Avenue, on the west side of the Convention Center. Cash is not accepted on board, but that matters little while rides cost nothing.

A Sun Link streetcar in downtown Tucson. Image: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

If you drive, the Convention Center has four parking areas. Lot A is a garage at 260 S. Church Avenue, Lot B is on Granada Avenue on the west side, and Lot C has a surface lot and a garage behind the Linda Ronstadt Music Hall. You pay on arrival by scanning a QR code on the signs. Prices for the show week were not published. Visit Tucson also points visitors to any downtown garage and to more than 1,800 metered street spaces, paid through the GoTucson Parking app. The tent shows on the edge of town are easier: Kino, Colors of the Stone and the other public shows above advertise free parking.

Book a room early

The showcase runs for nearly three weeks, from January 27 to February 14, and dealers, trade buyers and visitors all need rooms in the same weeks. Book as soon as your dates are fixed. For stays of fewer than 10 room nights, Visit Tucson's visitor information line (1-800-638-8350) can help. Some shows offer show rates: Casino Del Sol, home of Colors of the Stone, listed 2027 gem show rates from $139 a night at its Estrella hotel and $169 at the Resort Tower, before taxes and fees.

A fossil skeleton marked "sold" in a hotel dealer room during the Tucson show. Image: cobalt from Phoenix, Arizona, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What to bring

• Trade papers if you are a buyer. A business licence, resale certificate or tax permit, plus photo ID. Each wholesale show sets its own rules, and several require registration in advance.
• A credit card. Visit Tucson's advice for buyers is to pay by card, get the vendor's name and contact details, and note which show you bought at, so you can follow up later.
• A look at the Convention Center's rules. The society points visitors to the Convention Center's venue policies, which cover bags, outside food and re-entry. Check them before the day.
• The $2-off coupon. The society says a coupon for the Friday February 12 Military and Senior Day will be posted on its show page; it cannot be combined with other discounts.
• A plan. Show hours vary. Visit Tucson says shows open between 8 and 10 a.m. and close between 6 and 8 p.m., so check each one.

An azurite specimen from Bisbee offered for sale at the Tucson show in 2007. Image: cobalt, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Beyond the shows

On Church Avenue, north of the Convention Center, the University of Arizona's Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum fills part of the old Pima County Courthouse at 115 N. Church Avenue. It is open Tuesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with adult tickets at $15, $10 for seniors and active military, and $5 for children aged 4 to 12. Visit Tucson says the museum holds a free day during the shows; the 2027 date was not announced.

The domed Pima County Courthouse, home of the Alfie Norville Gem & Mineral Museum. Image: Michael Barera, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

The azurite pictured above came from Bisbee, a copper-mining town in the southeast of the state, where the Copper Queen Mine Tour takes visitors underground. Closer to the shows, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Sabino Canyon and the Tucson Mountain District of Saguaro National Park each fill a free afternoon. If you are in town earlier in the winter, our Christmas in Tucson and Phoenix post covers the December lights.

Practical notes

• Getting there: the main show is at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Avenue, downtown, on the fare-free Sun Link streetcar (Granada/Cushing stop).
• Parking: Convention Center Lots A, B and C, paid by QR code on arrival; metered street parking downtown; free parking at Kino and Casino Del Sol.
• Children: free at the main show when 14 and under with a paying adult. No under-12s at JOGS.
• Payment: Visit Tucson recommends paying dealers by credit card.
• Dates, hours and prices above are as published by the organisers in November 2026. The 2027 shuttle routes and the main show's dealer and lecture lists were still to come.