History of the Flagg Show (1970-2001)
By Ray Grant (From AMMMF Newsletter, Summer 2001, Vol. 10, No. 3)
The first show was on Sunday, January 18, 1970. It was a one day show, the dealer cost was $5.00, and admission was $0.50/car for the public. The show was called the Superstition Mountain Mineral Festival, and was held at the Don’s Base Camp on Peralta Road. There was a mineral auction, door prizes and entertainment. The Mineralogical Society of Arizona had a food booth. The show chairman was Floyd Getsinger.
The second and third years (1971-1972), the name was changed to Superstition Mineral Festival, and the show was held at the Pioneer Living History Museum off Black Canyon Highway North of Phoenix. The second year it was two days, Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 30 and 31. Dealers paid $10 per day, and public admission was $0.50 per person. Barclay Bitner was the show chairman.
The fourth year (1973) the show was moved to the State Fairgrounds, next to the Arizona Mineral Museum. It was still called the Superstition Mineral Festival. It continued to be at the State Fairgrounds for the next five years (5th through 9th annual show, 1974-1978). The name was changed to the Flagg Mineral Festival, and the cost to dealers remained $10 per day. The cost of admission stayed at $0.50 per person. For this period the show was Saturday and Sunday and usually the last weekend in January.
The tenth and eleventh shows (1979-1980) were held at the Western Saddle Club on Seventh St. south of Thunderbird Rd. The dealer spaces were $12.50, and the admission was 75 cents per person.
It appears there were no shows for the years 1981, 1982, 1983.
The twelfth annual Flagg Mineral Festival was January 7 and 8, 1984. This show and the thirteenth and fourteenth (1985 and 1986) were held at a State Fairground parking lot on the Northwest corner of 19th Ave. and Encanto Blvd. Dealer spaces were $25 for the weekend, and admission was 75 cents for the 12th, $1 per car for the 13th, and $1 per person for the 14th.
In 1987 the fifteenth show was held at Mesa Community College. A dealer space was $35 for the weekend, and admission and parking were free for the public. Between 1987 and 2000 the cost of a dealer space rose from $35 to $45 and then to $55, and admission has been free.
In 2001, the show was extended to three days for the first time, and the cost was $75 per dealer space for all three days if paid in advance. Admission and parking were still free for the public.