:: 8th annual Gem and Jam Fesitval ::
:: Tuscon, Arizona ::
:: February 7-9, 2014 ::
The 8th annual Gem and Jam Festival took place this past weekend in Tucson, Ariz., coinciding with one of the largest gem and mineral showcases in the world. During February Tucson becomes the SXSW of gems, minerals, artifacts, fossils and more. Parking lots, convention centers, hotels and ballrooms are taken over by hundreds, if not thousands, of vendors from all over the world with pieces ranging from one dollar to hundreds of thousands. I saw a $300,000 emerald and a 45,000 year old mammoth hide with hair still in tact, just to name a few examples.
The Gem and Jam Fest is a great addition to the scene there, especially since most other vending ends by sundown. Inside the festival grounds, an old slaughter house property gets transformed into a playground of music, live painting (featuring Alex Grey and many others), dancers, performers structures, vendors (mainly original art and crystals) and other visual delights. The music is mainly of the EDM variety with some full bands tossed in supplemented by fire dancers and spectacular lighting.Performers included The Motet, Purity Ring, BoomBox, Eliot Lipp, Bluetech, Govinda, Supervision, Lynx, Desert Dwellers, Thriftworks, Marvel Years, Pretty Lights Artists, Random Rab Live Band, Spafford and many more.
