AGTA Calls Off Tentative Plans for April Gem Show
michelle.graff@nationaljeweler.com
AGTA’s Tucson GemFair, shown here in a shot from 2020, won’t be happening this year. The organization announced Monday it has scrapped plans to produce an April show.
Dallas—It’s official—there will be no AGTA Tucson GemFair in 2021.
Late Monday, the Dallas-based organization announced it is abandoning its plan to reschedule GemFair to April 13-18.
CEO Doug Hucker said after discussing it with exhibitors and buyers, AGTA determined that producing a Tucson show “would not be viable this year” as the nation continues to battle COVID-19.
The announcement came the same day that President Joe Biden announced the United States had hit a grim milestone—more than half a million dead from the virus.
RELATED CONTENT: How the Colored Stone Market Is Making Up for No Tucson
Normally, AGTA’s Tucson GemFair takes place in early February, amid more than two dozen other gem shows in the Southwest city that’s referenced collectively in the trade as “Tucson.”
In December, AGTA announced it was canceling its Tucson show after the Pima County Health Department denied its application, but then began looking at April dates as more than 20 other gem shows announced they were postponing rather than canceling.
AGTA said it surveyed past buyers and exhibiting members via emails, Zoom meetings and on the phone to gauge the level of interest in participating in April show before ultimately deciding to call it off.
“The decision to cancel our Tucson event for 2021 was clearly one of the most difficult decisions the AGTA board of directors has faced,” Hucker said.
“Moving forward, we are all committed to planning a robust show in Tucson in 2022. Additionally, we are currently investigating other opportunities for AGTA and its members to participate in Las Vegas this August as well as other exciting possibilities that we expect to announce very shortly.”
Late Monday, the Dallas-based organization announced it is abandoning its plan to reschedule GemFair to April 13-18.
CEO Doug Hucker said after discussing it with exhibitors and buyers, AGTA determined that producing a Tucson show “would not be viable this year” as the nation continues to battle COVID-19.
The announcement came the same day that President Joe Biden announced the United States had hit a grim milestone—more than half a million dead from the virus.
RELATED CONTENT: How the Colored Stone Market Is Making Up for No Tucson
Normally, AGTA’s Tucson GemFair takes place in early February, amid more than two dozen other gem shows in the Southwest city that’s referenced collectively in the trade as “Tucson.”
In December, AGTA announced it was canceling its Tucson show after the Pima County Health Department denied its application, but then began looking at April dates as more than 20 other gem shows announced they were postponing rather than canceling.
AGTA said it surveyed past buyers and exhibiting members via emails, Zoom meetings and on the phone to gauge the level of interest in participating in April show before ultimately deciding to call it off.
“The decision to cancel our Tucson event for 2021 was clearly one of the most difficult decisions the AGTA board of directors has faced,” Hucker said.
“Moving forward, we are all committed to planning a robust show in Tucson in 2022. Additionally, we are currently investigating other opportunities for AGTA and its members to participate in Las Vegas this August as well as other exciting possibilities that we expect to announce very shortly.”
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