Crystal Cave in South River continues to delight both young and old
It's shaping up to be a busy summer at the Crystal Cave Mineral Exhibit and Crystal Shoppe in South River.
James Toth, the co-owner of the Crystal Shoppe retail portion, says “we're going pretty strong with our artisan village this year”.
Toth says a stage platform will again be in place to accommodate musicians at the site on weekends.
Toth is now accepting applications for performances that will begin at the end of June and run through the Labour Day weekend.
If the weather remains warm enough, the performances may extend into Thanksgiving weekend.
Crystal Cave has hosted mostly regional musicians, from Huntsville to North Bay area, who play a variety of music, and sometimes a full band will show up.
Toth says the performances don't only have to be about music adding the door is open to other forms of entertainment.
Interested performers can send an email to crystalcavecanada@gmail.com to book a spot, and Toth says some slots are starting to fill up.
The acts take place Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays with Sundays drawing the most crowds, and Toth says the entertainment is free to the public.
New this year is the workshop space on the grounds just outside the artisan village.
Toth says the space is free for the artisans to use as long as they are open at the same time as Crystal Cave.
“There'll be lots of jewelry making, tattoo teaching, card reading and an introduction to journaling by a freelance reporter.”
Toth says each of the artisans will have their own fees for the public.
As an example, he says the jewelry workshops will have different rates depending on the complexity of the items people put together, and they keep what they make.
“So you're walking away with a piece of jewelry when you're done,” Toth said.
One of the workshops that has been confirmed is a Tree of Life pendant-making class.
Most of the classes will take place on Saturdays and Sundays.
The grounds have space for pop ups, but Toth says in this instance the individual will need to supply their own tent.
The public can expect crafts people to be on site with some selling various foods like honey and maple syrup.
Toth is currently preparing an outdoor games area which will open very soon.
Back this year after a successful introduction in 2023 is the Faerie Forest.
This is free and open to the public at any time of day year-round.
Toth describes the Faerie Forest as a place that “has experiential installations that allow kids and adults to wander and wonder”.
Toth says the Faerie Forest has a lot to offer including faerie houses to explore and faerie wings where people can stand in front of and have their pictures taken.
The Faerie Forest will have more features added in the future.
One of Crystal Cave's most popular features is the Faerie Fest, and it attracts hundreds of people from a wide area.
Toth says it's a weekend event that this year takes place June 22nd and 23rd.
“People come dressed in all sorts of costumes like gnomes, elves, butterflies and there are a lot of Harry Potters,” Toth said.
“Plus we'll have gift certificates for the adults and children with the best costume.”
Toth and his business partner, Braelyn Rose, are now putting this year's Faerie Fest together.
June marks the sixth year of operation for Crystal Cave.
Both the mineral exhibit and retail portion are open Wednesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Rocco Frangione, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The North Bay Nugget
