EASTPORT -- OK, so maybe not ALL the Petoskey stones scattered along the Barnes Park beach got there by nature's design.
Some are "plants" for the annual Petoskey Stone Festival celebrating Michigan's official state stone.
The fourth annual festival takes place Saturday at the Eastport park, with its signature Petoskey stone beach hunt along a 1,200-foot stretch of sand along Grand Traverse Bay.
"It's our most popular event," said Festival Chairman Linda Gallagher, a Petoskey stone collector and Antrim Review editor. "We put out an average of 200 to 250 pounds of stones. We give each age group about 20 minutes on the beach, so by the time the last group goes out, they're getting harder to find."
The contest, which features prizes for biggest, smallest and best stone, is among dozens of activities centered around the Petoskey, a variety of petrified coral unique to northern Michigan.
Other events include a children's stone-skipping contest; seminars on the history, culture and geology of the Petoskey; hunting tips; demonstrations of Petoskey stone cutting, polishing and jewelry-making; and ideas for creating sculptures, household ornaments and other works of art from Michigan rocks and minerals.
Also featured are a children's fishing pond, appearances by Antrim County Sheriff's Deputy Travis Chellis and canine police dog Detective Snyper, food, music and entertainment by juggler Tommy Tropic and Albo the Clown.
The free festival attracted between 3,000 and 4,000 visitors last year, said Gallagher, who cooked up the Memorial Day weekend event to boost tourism in Antrim County. The festival is sponsored by the Antrim County Parks and Recreation Commission.
"I really think this event could get bigger than the Cherry Festival because we're so unique," Gallagher said. "Those of us who have been up here, we take Petoskey stones for granted. But these are very valuable fossils in other parts of the world. It's like the amethyst in Thunder Bay (Ontario)."
More than 30 Petoskey stone and gem and mineral dealers from as far away as Kansas will offer their expertise at the festival, along with books, jewelry, fossils, minerals and gemstones. Visitors will be able to have their own stones cut and polished.
"It really caters to kids, which is fantastic," said Kevin Gauthier, owner of Korner Gem in Traverse City and a founding sponsor of the event. "My favorite part is seeing the kids' reaction when we actually cut open their stone and seeing the light that comes into their eyes: BING!"
Gauthier, co-author of rock pickers' guides to Lakes Michigan and Superior, said he knows of no other festival dedicated to Michigan's state stone.
"It is the one and only, and they put a lot of energy in it," he said.
The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.petoskeystonefestival.com.
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