NEWRY — Sunday River Ski Resort will host the second annual New England Mineral Conference on May 9-11 at its Grand Summit Resort Hotel and Conference Center.

Registration and hotel reservations are now underway, Jeffrey Morrison, association president, said Monday in a news release.

Participants are advised to preregister by mail before April 28 to get the preregistration discount rate of $25 for Friday and Saturday only and $32 for Friday to Sunday, the day of a field trip. After April 28, registration at the door will be $30 for 2 p.m. Friday and Saturday and $37 for Friday to Sunday.

Registration checks should be made payable to: New England Mineral Association, P.O. Box 33, East Poland, ME 04230.

“We had a great first year (in Lewiston) and everyone that came had a good time,” Morrison said. “We have been working extremely hard to improve on last year’s event. First, we have moved the event up to the conference center at Sunday River Ski Resort.”

He said there were several reasons for doing so.

“Although the venue in Lewiston worked well, they are booked in advance for several years out and it was going to be problematic to get a date that would work,” Morrison said.

“Although Sunday River is a little off the beaten path, there were several compelling reasons that this location was chosen. One of the primary reasons was the close proximity to the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum.

“We Maine people are lucky to have something of this caliber being opened in our state and thought it would be nice to show it off,” he said.

The Bethel museum will host tours for conference participants, he said.

“The museum will not be completed and not open to the public at this point, so you will get a ‘sneak-peek-of-things-to-come’ tour of the museum,” Morrison said.

Other considerations were the venue’s willingness to work with the association.

“Even though the guest and dealer rooms are a little more expensive, the rooms are larger and nicer,” Morrison said. “The facility has a nice layout and, with a few exceptions, the conference will have one section of the hotel all to ourselves.”

Neither Morrison nor the association website listed the lineup of speakers yet or coming displays.

“Last year’s displays were amazing,” he said. “It was great to see many world-class specimens that had come from New England.”

In conjunction with the educational committee from the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum, Morrison said the association will host a poster session for school students. They can submit a poster. Additional information is on the NEMC website.

“So, if you have any kids or grandkids or know of any others that may be interested, let them know as there are some nice prizes to be awarded,” he said.

“We will have selected posters on display and, hopefully, some of the students will be available Friday afternoon to answer questions about the information on their posters,” he said.

Along with the poster session, they are also planning on some school tours of the posters and displays, along with having some educational stations set up for them.

All of the student activities will be held Friday prior to the opening speaker at the conference. There will also be a time Friday afternoon that the posters, displays and dealers are open to the general public.

For more information, visit www.nemineralconference.org/nema/Welcome.html or contact Morrison at 207-232-4973 or jmorris7@maine.rr.com.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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