25th “ENSISHEIM METEORITE SHOW” 2026
Update: 10 May 2026 (20:20 CEST)
25th “ENSISHEIM METEORITE SHOW 2026” NEWS
(May 09, 2026)
Dear meteorite friends & members of IMCA,
Here are the news, concerning the 2026 Ensisheim Meteorite Show in the Regency Palace, Ensisheim
This newsletter as PDF
Ensisheim Meteorite Show 2026 table map
Expo Bourse Ensisheim Météorite 2026 – encart publicitaire (PDF)
Expo Bourse Ensisheim Météorite 2026 – Programme (PDF)
Preamble:
I am sorry for my long delay in sending this newsletter and to answer to your specific messages sent via e-mail. I am aware that you expected to receive all this by about mid-April, as every year. However, this time it was first my computer which was “significantly ill” and then it took me some time to buy a new device and to recover all the past data related to our Ensisheim Meteorite Shows. The second reason for my long delay is that I was away from home for about 2 weeks in the second half of April. I hope this delay does not affect your show participation and your table reservations too much. Along with sending these “News”, I also started replying to all the e-mail messages you have sent recently regarding your wish to come as exhibitors and to rent tables. So far, I can confirm that every request for tables sent to me by e-mail contact so far by our “regular guests” could be agreed on and that I will do my best to meet your wishes to occupy specific places. I will send this newsletter to all of you mentioning your specific table numbers. So far, our new guests or “newcomers” who recently asked for tables must wait until I am sure that we have free tables, after the old guests have reserved theirs, by priority (see below).
Thank you very much for your patience!
GENERAL INFORMATION
Show location
As in 2025, the Regency Palace buildings, located in the center of Ensisheim, in front of the church, will host our show. As last year, we succeeded to set 110 dealer tables within the Regency buildings, in the entrance tent (“Chapiteau”) and under the “Arcades” (see below).
Show schedule
The “2026 Meteorite Show” will be held, as usual, during the weekend preceding the Ste-Marie-aux-Mines “Mineral & Gem” show:
- Friday June 19: 10:00–18:00: professional day (for dealers only, public not allowed). (The buildings close
at 18:00 sharp!) - Friday June 19, 18:15: official show pre-opening on the main square (for dealers, friends & invited
guests): welcome address, induction ceremonies, and the traditional friendly drink. - Friday June 19, 19:00: traditional DINNER PARTY in the big tent set up on the square where
everybody (dealers, public…) is warmly invited (some details are given below).
Price: 25 euro, drinks not included.
Menu: appetizer (“apéritif”), followed by the “Meteorite dish” (menu based on braised beef &
spaetzle, salad…), then “Black Forrest cake” & coffee as dessert, + various other drinks…
Reservation for the Dinner Party is appreciated though not strictly controlled; it just helps the cooks to prepare the appropriate amount of food.
To reserve, just send me your names. - Saturday June 20: 9:30–18:30: Official show opening to everybody (exhibitors & public)
(dealer’s access possible from 8:00).
Permanent free entrance to everybody! - Saturday June 20: 11:00: Official reception and opening ceremony (on the main square)
- Saturday June 20: 11:30: Possible rapid show visit by the officials
- Saturday June 20: 12:00: Wine and “tartes flambées” reception (on the main square)
- Saturday June 20. 19:00: Festive meal available for everybody in the big tent: Raw vegetables followed
by lamb on the spit (cooked on the square during the day), with dessert (“Apfelstrudel”, coffee…)
Price: 35 euro, drinks not included. - Sunday June 21: 9:30–16:30: Show permanent free access to everybody (dealer’s access possible
from 8:30) - Sunday June 21: 11:00 – 12:00: General original lecture by Pierre-Emmanuel Paulis, at the
“Médiathèque building”, entitled: “En Route pour l’Espace” (On the Way to Space), in French (with
Power Point slides giving a summary in English).
(details about P.-M. Paulis and his lecture, see below)
Travel tips
Maps and travel itineraries can be found soon on the website of the city of Ensisheim:
www.ville-ensisheim.fr.
The main nearby hotels are: “La Couronne” (across the street from the Regency buildings), “Domaine du Moulin”, “Logis de l’Ecomusée”, “Niemerich” and “Cheval Blanc”. More information on their location and their characteristics (phone, fax, e-mail, websites) will be available soon on the city’s website.
IMPORTANT: Everyone must organize his own accommodation! If you call, they all also speak English and German.
Induction ceremonies
The induction ceremonies of the new “Honorary Members of the Ensisheim Meteorite Association ” now definitely replace the former “Honorary Ensisheim Meteorite Guardians” nominations. Their status is of course equivalent to that of the old inductees and both must be considered as forever “Ensisheim Meteorite Guardians”. We are happy to claim that these ceremonies can be scheduled again, after an interruption of 4 years!
Show theme, lecture and exhibits
About our show lecturer
Pierre-Emmanuel Paulis, instructor at the Euro Space Center in Belgium and president of the Mars Society Belgium, will give us a lecture entitled “ON THE WAY TO SPACE.” He will passionately tell us about the great epic of the ‘New Space.’
The conquest of Space is undergoing a revolution! The halt of American space shuttle flights created a gap into which private companies have rushed, seeing a new ‘Eldorado’. The most well-known is certainly SpaceX, with its reusable Falcon 9 rocket that sends wealthy tourists into orbit and to whom NASA now entrusts its astronauts. But it is not the only one. There are also, among others, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, Sierra Nevada, Axiom, Boeing… reusable rockets and capsules, space planes, private shuttles and space stations, gigantic launchers… the competition is fierce!
Meanwhile, NASA is preparing its grand return to the Moon and has just succeeded in its ARTEMIS-2 mission. With the help of its giant SLS rocket and its new Orion capsule: four astronauts, including a woman, have recently completed a flyby of the Moon!
Pierre-Emmanuel will give us interesting and unprecedented details about ARTEMIS-2. Indeed, regularly staying at the Kennedy Space Center and being a friend of many astronauts, Pierre-Emmanuel will also take us on a visit to the assembly building where he was able to admire the new giant SLS rocket and, behind the scenes, a launch of the Falcon 9 rocket carrying a supply cargo to the International Space Station ISS…
Fly with us into the heart of space news!
Neither miss this very important lecture, nor refrain from asking many questions about your dreams of Space or details about the recent Moon flyby!
Brief curriculum vitae of Pierre-Emmanuel Paulis
Pierre-Emmanuel Paulis has been passionate about space exploration since his childhood and is an associate teacher at the ‘Euro Space Society’ of Belgian astronaut Dirk Frimout.
Pierre-Emmanuel Paulis also gain space experience:
- two Mars simulations in the United States at the MDRS base,
- one hour of weightlessness aboard the Zero G Airbus, flights in fighter jets, etc.
- he has also attended 6 space shuttle launches, including a Delta 4 and several SpaceX Falcon 9 launches at the Kennedy Space Center, one Soyuz rocket at Baikonur, and one Ariane rocket at Kourou.
- we have lost count of the astronauts he has met, including 11 of the 12 men who walked on the Moon!
- he is also a commentator (RTBF and RTL) and a space writer, consultant for various media.
- in addition to being the president of the Mars Society Belgium he is also an honorary member of the society
- “The Shuttle Landing Experience” based in Titusville, Florida.
- since September 2023, Pierre-Emmanuel has been hosting weekly and monthly space segments on RTBF (Belgian Radio-Télévision), on RTL, and for the scientific magazine of the Walloon Region “Athéna.”
- Pierre-Emmanuel has published 20 books dealing, directly or indirectly, with Space.
Pierre-Emmanuel Paulis is, by all means, the true expert to answer your many questions about the recent ARTEMIS-2 mission!
Show theme and exhibits
We have chosen to illustrate the theme of ARTEMIS-type lunar missions by displaying in our showcases the best meteorites of Lunar and Martian origin from our collections.
We are therefore calling on our many collectors to bring us their most beautiful samples of such meteorites, which will be displayed in our showcases.
A big thank you to everyone!
SPECIFIC MESSAGES FOR DEALERS
TABLES SETUP and DEALERS LAYOUT
We know that the main concern of many of you is first the table setup and the dealers layout within the Regency buildings (see the general hall plans included, as attachment, at the end of this newsletter).
As last year, all 110 tables have the same dimensions, i.e. 153 x 76 cm, thus 36 in the Regency room,
11 in Egloff room, 5 in Pas Perdus room, 35 in the Chapiteau, and up to 23 in the Arcades (covered space between the street and the square).
Note that from the general echoes, the Arcade space is significantly appreciated, probably because it is well protected from the sun and rain and allows a smooth draught appreciated during the hot summer days.
Because the light is somewhat slightly naturally darkened with respect to the outside, we suggest that the Arcade dealers bring along some kind of lighting (in case…).
The table price is again 220 Euros per table (and not per meter), regardless of the number of tables rented anywhere within or outside the buildings, meaning that all spaces are considered as equivalent and that there is no more digressive price for those who rent more than one table.
Tables must be paid preferably in cash (in Euros) on the opening day, at the reception desk located in front of the main entrance of the tent (Chapiteau). French checks are accepted but credit cards aren’t!
Please don’t send any money in advance through any kind of bank draft!
Important note:
Every year, for various reasons, some dealers had reserved but did not (or could not) come. In most mineral shows, to avoid such a situation, they require the dealers to pay a part of their booking, a long time in advance, by sending money.
We realize that this could be a complicated and time consuming way to resolve the problem for both for us (organizers) and you (dealers). So, if you reserve, we decided to trust you will come. If you can’t come, please notify me urgently as soon as possible so that I can let your table to newcomers who might still be waiting on my waiting list.
When you pay, you will receive your personalized badges (for you and your assistants – see below), as well as a receipt (invoice without VAT).
You are only allowed to enter if you wear your personal badge!
As said in the preamble, all old exhibitors who already asked for tables, will be notified (most probably from tomorrow on) by mail, that they are accepted to occupy their former tables at their preferred places, that stay arranged and numbered as in 2025. I will therefore appreciate very much if these dealers can inform me quickly about whether they still wish (or not) to confirm to rent their usual tables this year again.
If I have no news from them by about the end of May at the latest, they will lose their priority and we will start to offer their usual tables to newcomers. Indeed, I already have a couple of newcomers also asking me by e-mail to register. I am now asking them to wait until I make sure I still have free tables for them.
From now on, other “newcomers” can also now start to ask for tables. However, they must accept the remaining tables (if any!) as selected by the organizers, roughly following the “first come, first served” rule, if possible.
We are sorry in advance for possibly not being able to meet everybody’s wishes and we hope everybody will show flexibility and accept our best rearrangements, which must be strict, meaning they can neither be modified nor changed.
That’s the best I can do folks, so thanks very much for your flexibility and understanding.
To reserve your table(s), just send me an e-mail:
zelimir.gabelica@gmail.com
When you rent tables, please specify the following data:
First name, last name and the country of origin of the main dealer (you) and the same for all your assistants! This is necessary so that we can prepare the corresponding badges.
Nobody can enter the showrooms without badges outside the opening hours.
All dealers and their assistants must also wear their personal badge permanently during their stay in the showrooms.
Dealer’s assistants
The rules for assistants are the following:
1 reserved table = one dealer and not more than 1 assistant, hence 1 or 2 badges awarded;
2 tables, also one dealer and not more than 1 assistant, hence 1 or 2 badges awarded;
3 tables, one dealer and not more than 2 assistants, so up to 3 badges awarded;
More than 3 tables, still up to 3 badges are awarded; no additional badge is awarded for more than 3 persons per stand composed of 4 tables or more. These (“badgeless”) assistants have no access to the showrooms on Friday and will be considered as the normal public on Saturday and Sunday.
Persons without badge are not considered resellers, cannot occupy tables and are not allowed to enter the showrooms on Friday (professional day) nor outside public opening hours on Saturday & Sunday.
Selling meteorites elsewhere in the buildings or outside (on the main square) is not allowed.
“Consignment tables”
“Consignment tables“: this is the space where organizers and guests coming from “far away” can offer their “extraterrestrials” for sale at a friendly price.
These 4 additional tables are now located at the entrance of the Chapiteau.
Those who are interested in reserving a small space on these consignment tables (this is free of charge), contact me and, if possible, specify approximately the amount of space desired. Currently 10 up to 20-25 samples (still flexible number) are allowed to be offered for sale.
Material to offer for sale
Our show is exclusively dedicated to extraterrestrial material (meteorites, tektites, impactites and related literature). In other words, any other geological material of terrestrial origin, namely minerals, gems, fossils, pearls etc. is strongly prohibited to be displayed or to be offered for sale.
We are warmly welcoming everybody to attend this 25th Meteorite Show in Ensisheim.
I am now looking forward to receiving news from all of you as soon as possible and remain at your disposal to provide you with any kind of additional information.
Thank you for your constant interest in our event!
My ever-friendly regards to everybody.
Welcome all to our “annual blast” again, have much fun and always stay happy!
Zelimir GABELICA
Addendum :
