The Ventura Gem Show has been a fun family event for six decades.

The Ventura Gem Show is taking place March 2 & 3 (10am–5pm, Saturday; 10am–4pm, Sunday) at the Ventura County Fairgrounds (10 W. Harbor Blvd., Ventura). The show is open to the public and admission is free (note: the Fairgrounds charges a parking fee if using the Fairgrounds lot).

The Ventura Gem Show has been a fun family event for six decades and counting with its focus on gemstone cutting and jewelry-making, rocks and fossils, and kids and education. At the show, we’ll announce the recipient of our $1,000 Scholarship Award given annually to a local college student. Upon entering the show, kids are given a free polished stone at our Welcome Booth, where teachers receive free rock samples and educational packets. At the Kids Booth, children enjoy activities offering an assortment of rocky prizes. A nearby display provides info about the society’s two-room museum in Ojai, where teachers, home-schoolers, and youth groups can arrange tours by appointment.

There’s gold in the California hills, and you can learn how to pan for it at the show. At one booth, expert prospectors will guide you through the basics, and you can purchase “pay dirt” to pan for real gold nuggets and flakes at the show or in your own backyard. In addition, this free show will feature displays of gems, minerals, fossils, and award-winning handcrafted jewelry. These include educational exhibits of fossils collected locally in and around Ventura County, as well as a display of our State Rock, Mineral, Fossil, and Gemstone (including a gold nugget, an Ice Age saber-tooth cat, and “Auggie”, the California State Dinosaur). Still other displays will show how stones collected locally have been crafted into jewelry. Demonstrations give visitors up-close looks at artists pursuing their crafts: gemstone cutting and carving, silver work and jewelry making, beading, and other arts and crafts made from nature. Raffle prizes include a $100 bill, fine jewelry, mineral and fossil specimens, and more. In addition, enjoy hourly silent auctions for rocks, minerals, and fossils, as well as a “Country Store” white elephant sale, a plant sale, and over 15 dealers selling beads, opals, jade, gemstones, crystals, fossils, jewelry and jewelry-making supplies, and gift items. It’s a 61-year Ventura tradition the whole family will enjoy.

VGMS was founded in 1944 to encourage interest in rocks, minerals, fossils, lapidary arts and jewelry-making, and related areas through education, activities, and exhibitions such as this annual show, which is open to the community. The society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, educational organization and welcomes individual and family members. VGMS hosts monthly talks on earth science topics and jewelry arts, maintains a lapidary arts studio in Ojai, makes presentations to area schools, and conducts field trips for members and guests to collect rocks, minerals, and fossils in southern California and neighboring states.

The Ventura Gem Show is the society’s major fund-raising event helping to underwrite educational activities, including the annual college scholarship and school visits and donations. For further details, call (805) 312-8467, email [email protected], or visit our web site at www.vgms.org.

.

“A diagnosis is not the end,” says Stewart.

by Mira Reverente

Vern Stewart is used to the dizzying twists and turns of life.

He majored in art but ended up working as a fund manager, catering to over 400 investors and making multi-million dollar deals. He spent a majority of his career working in the Bay Area but he’s now living in Ventura.

He was working out five to six times a week when he received his Parkinson’s disease (PD) diagnosis 10 years ago and his life came to a brief halt, at the age of 62.

Determined to overcome and continue living life on his terms, he immersed himself in countless doctors’ appointments, physical therapy and endless research.

“A diagnosis is not the end,” says Stewart, 72. “Some medical professionals deliver the diagnosis and think maybe that their work is done and that’s it because they haven’t found a cure for it.”

One of his first questions to his neurologist was “Will I live 10 to 15 more years?” The answer was a resounding “yes” and since then he has vowed to live life to the fullest, stopped seeking money as a reward and focused on friendships and family, which includes two adult children.

There are medications, surgery, clinical trials, support groups, classes and lifestyle modifications one can do in dealing with PD. The symptoms are so diverse but with a good support system and medical team, one can find medications and treatment that can work for them. Stewart underwent surgery called deep brain stimulation (DBS) where electrodes were implanted in his brain to reduce debilitating movement symptoms of PD.

Among the lifestyle modifications that Stewart undertook was a plant-based diet and taking supplements. “I cook more now. It’s just one more thing I can control – what I put in my body,” he says. A physical therapist also helped him re-train his body and re-learn everyday tasks like bathing and walking.

Before a femur injury he was also pedaling away on his e-bike. He also learned how to paddle board to work on his balance, to take advantage of one of the many offerings of his waterfront community. “My instructor was the sweetest thing but she was a bit hesitant to teach me given my condition but I persevered,” he says. He supplemented the lessons by immersing himself in YouTube videos and learning everything there is to know about paddle boarding.

He also signed up for boxing classes in his community called Neuroboxing Fight Camp, a program geared towards people overcoming PD and other neurological diseases. He finds the camaraderie and the positivity in class contagious and invigorating. He explains, “Other people’s stories inspire me and I hope mine does the same thing for them.”

He also enjoys the solitude that living in a coastal town can sometimes bring. “You have to be at peace with solitude,” Stewart says of his current state of mind. “I read a lot and spend a lot of time in the kitchen.”

The power of solitude as espoused by Buddha and John Muir, propels Stewart on most days, as well as the need for self-reliance. He wants to reach more people and encourage them through their Parkinson’s journey. “It is so tempting to shut yourself out and withdraw from your social circles, but there is help out there,” he says.

*Vern can be reached by email: [email protected]. He lives at Portside Ventura Harbor where Neuroboxing is located so walks to the sessions.

Editor: If you are a senior (over 70-years), or know of one, who would like to share their retirement, or job, with us please let us know at [email protected].