Spring Loaded: A Message from the Editor
"Scores!" Says He: August/September 2026
Return to Center: Hello Again, PVC!
(Re)introducing My Batman Pez Card Display
Pez Poetry
Happy Halloween from Pezhead Monthly

Spring Loaded: A Message from the Editor | top

Hello and Happy October from Pezhead Monthly! This is one of my favorite months of the year because it brings with it cooler temperatures, apple cider, and all kinds of spooky Halloween fun. And, it's also a pretty safe bet that it brings at least one Pez gathering or convention.

A lot has happened in the Pez world since the previous August/September double issue, which included my recap of Pezamania 35 and a feature about the special project I’ve been working on to celebrate 25 years of Pezhead Monthly.

For starters, the Pez on the River convention took place in September in Winona, Minnesota, hosted as always by Sandy and Cheryl Gardner-Ghionzoli, and it was by all accounts a great time. As with previous years, the timing just couldn’t work out for me. But, I’m really hoping to make it to my first POTR next year when it moves to June!

There were also some great online exclusives released by Pez, including the Summer Pool Float (which, although cool, looks suspiciously like the Donut Treat), the Summer Snowman, and 2 new Presenter Girls, one exclusive to Europe (Watermelon Sourz) and one exclusive to the US (Grape). I hope this region-specific trend does not continue with the Presenter Girls because I really like this series, and up until now all of these have been available in the US. I'm looking forward to picking up the Watermelon Sourz Presenter Girl at an upcoming convention or gathering, or online for a decent price.

And, breaking news! Coming in right at the end of September, PEZ Candy, Inc. announced that they are throwing a birthday party for their 100-year anniversary next year! The event will be held from April 29 through May 1 at the Courtyard by Marriott in West Haven Orange/Milford, which is right down the road from the Pez Visitor Center in Orange, CT. This will be a full on convention with room hopping, games, and more, and will also include an after hours reception at the PEZ Visitor Center and even a factory tour! This will be a collaboration between PEZ Candy, Inc. and Landon and Morgan, who host both Pezamania and the Virtual Pez Convention. Check out all the details here, where you can also register for this event. I recommend that you register as soon as you can. I’ve already registered, and was fortunate enough to get the factory tour. However, at the time of this writing, the factory tour is already sold out. This was just announced a few hours ago and the excitement in the Pez community is already sky high. I can’t wait!

In my little corner of the Pez world, I got another Pez autograph in August, this one from Joe Pantoliano on a Joe Cool Pez dispenser at Chicago Fan Expo. Joe is actually the second celebrity to sign a Joe Cool Pez dispenser for me. The first one was Henry Winkler, who was my very first Pez autograph way back in 2009.

In September, I made a return visit to the Pez Visitor Center in Orange, Connecticut as one major part of an anniversary trip with my lovely wife, Jessi. (The other major part of our trip was a Monkees fan convention in nearby North Haven, which was a very big deal for Jessi and a lot of fun for me, too.) It’s been more than 9 years since I was last at the PVC and it was great to be back. I go into more details about my experiences at the PVC, and the scores I picked up there, elsewhere in this issue.

Jessi and I also made a return visit to the Holiday Inn in Independence, Ohio, which is also known as the hotel where Pezamania takes place every year. This was a stopping point betwen home and a visit to see family in western New York, and this makes it 3 times this year that I've stayed at the hotel, which I think is a personal record. I also stopped again at the nearby candy Warehouse BA Sweetie, and of course a visit to the area is not complete without a stop at the Winking Lizard Tavern across the street from the hotel. This time, I even took a couple of bottles of wing sauce home with me! No worries, I put it on my Pezamania tab and will settle up when I return to Winking Lizard in July 2027 (or earlier).

While visiting family (and Wegmans and hot dogs and frozen custard) in Western NY was mostly a great time, there was also, shall we say, a bit of a snag. This is loosely depicted in the following picture. And no worries, everyone is okay (including the deer). However, the car needs a little time in the hospital.

Looking ahead to October, as I mentioned in the previous issue, I’ll be attending TWO Pez gatherings this month: the IN Crowd in Westfield, Indiana on October 3 and Pezylvania in Kutztown, Pennsylvania on October 10. I am very much looking forward to both of these. While I probably won’t be selling anything at either gathering, I may bring some stuff to trade. I’m also making some swag that will do double duty as both IN Crowd AND Pezylvania swag. And of course I’m looking forward to seeing some of my Pez pals again at these gatherings, particularly Pezylvania where I know there will be at least a couple of people that I haven’t met in person before. I’ll write all about my adventures at both of these gatherings in the next issue of Pezhead Monthly.

This issue of Pezhead Monthly kicks off with a cover image that is the latest in the long-running series of Egg Baby Pez horror movie poster parodies I’ve made. This one pays homage to a famous sci-fi horror movie and is affectionately called “Egglien.” Also in this issue is a recap of my adventures from my recent visit to the Pez Visitor Center and a reintroduction to my carded Batman Pez display, which I finally put back together after a quite lengthy “under construction” phase. There’s also some Pez Poetry, including a limerick that pairs well with a number of previous Pezhead Monthly features, namely this Pez Almost-Quote, this Pez meme, and this Egg Baby Pez horror movie poster parody. Rounding out the issue is a rundown and photos of my August and September Pez scores.

Also, be sure to check out the Pezhead Monthly Halloween page and the Egg Baby Pez page, which have been updated with content from this current issue and include a lot more content from the archives.

Thanks as always for reading Pezhead Monthly. Take care and see you in October!

Joe Durrant
Editor, Pezhead Monthly
joe@pezheadmonthly.com

P.S. Did you miss last month's issue? You can still read it here. To search the full Pezhead Monthly archives, hop on over to the archive page, where you can browse by feature, Pez Poetry Slam, or issue. There's also a Google search bar to help you search the content across the site. And hey, maybe you would like to submit some words, photos, artwork, or videos to Pezhead Monthly to be featured in an upcoming issue? That would be great! Check out the submission details here.

"Scores!" Says He: August/September 2026 | top

I picked up a nice variety of Pez scores in August and September.

In August, I picked up 4 new dispensers from Pez.com, including 2 exclusives (a Summer Snowman and a Summer Pool Float) and 2 others that are also available in stores (Stitch with sunglasses and the new Halloween Ghost). The Summer Snowman is the third in the Christmas in Summer series, joining Santa and a Reindeer. Here’s a picture of all 3 in this series (so far).

From Kohls, I picked up the new Pokemon dispenser that features a full body Pikachu on the head, as well as the newest Bluey Holiday dispenser, which is a Pumpkin with Bingo on it. Bingo appeared on an Easter Egg dispenser earlier this year, and is also set to appear on a Christmas Sweater dispenser along with the Christmas Pez series later this year.

From Hook’s Drug Store at the Indiana State Fair (which I love to attend every year but rarely find any Pez that I don’t have), I picked up the new Mandalorian and Grogu 2-pack. This marks the third iteration of this 2-pack. The first included a mini Grogu with “The Mandalorian and The Child” on the box (since Grogu’s name had not been revealed yet) and the second included a mini Grogu with “The Mandalorian and Grogu” on the box. This newest 2-pack includes a standard sized Grogu dispenser, and was released to coincide with the recent feature movie “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” Here is a picture of these 3 different versions of this 2-pack. (There is also a 4th version, featuring the POP+Pez versions of these 2 characters, with the bonus of Grogu eating a frog.)

From my Pez pal Chad Foster, who recently supplied me with several new custom lighted Bat Signal dispensers, I picked up some scores that take my Batman Pez collection to a whole new level: a trio of 3D-printed Batman vehicles designed to hold Pez dispensers! This includes the Batmobile from the 1989 movie, the Batmobile from the TV show “Batman: The Animated Series,” and the Batwing. For the 2 Batmobiles, I happened to already have made custom Batman dispensers of both 1989 Batman (MIchael Keaton) and TAS Batman, and these are perfect for the new Batmobiles. Here’s a picture of the 1989 Batman in the Batmobile and here’s a picture of the TAS Batman in the TAS Batmobile. These are big items and space is definitely going to be a consideration in my Pez room and specifically my Batman Pez display. I’ve been batting around (get it?) some ideas here and will share in a later issue.

From Chicago Fan Expo, I picked up my latest Pez autograph: Joe Pantoliano! Joe has been in a lot of movies over the years, including “The Goonies,” “The Matrix,” and “The Fugitive.” I think he’s pretty cool, so of course I had him sign a Joe Cool Pez dispenser. Here is a picture of me, Joe, and my lovely wife Jes. When Joe signed my Pez dispenser, he said that he signed another Pez dispenser just the previous day. That dispenser was the Pirate Puck (which was fitting given that Joe starred in “The Goonies”), and I came to find out that the person who had him sign the dispenser was none other than the newest member of the Village People, my Pez pal Tom Zellmer. (A big thanks is due to Tom here for hooking me up with his VIP badge on the last day of Chicago Fan Expo. Tom, you absolutely rock!)

Here is a picture of my August scores, which you can click for a larger view.

In September, I picked up the newest in the Presenter Girl series, the Grape Presenter Girl, from Pez.com. Many of us were clamoring for this one for quite a while, since Lemon, Orange, Cherry, and Raspberry were already released (as well as several others; the Grape Girl makes it 14 total; the awesome Pez blog Pez Pals has a pictorial at the bottom of this page). It’s nice to finally have the Grape Presenter Girl in my collection!

From Pez Collector’s News (PCN), I picked up Vol 32, Issue 5 of PCN. This issue includes a collector’s profile of Larry Hamilton and a feature about the Soft Pez dispenser and candies from the 2000s, in addition to the usual letters, classifieds, and article from editor Richie Belyski. I highly recommend that you subscribe to PCN if you don’t already. Here is the link to subscribe. My subscription is expiring in December and I’ll definitely be renewing it!

A highlight of September was making my way back to the Pez Visitor Center (PVC) in Orange, Connecticut, with my lovely wife. I picked up a bunch of fun scores here, starting out with another tin bucket filled with candy (making this my 4th tin from the PVC). I also picked up the new Minecraft mini Zombie and mini Chicken Jockey 2-pack, a couple of note pads featuring dispensers from the Treats series and vintage dispensers, a postcard of the Eerie Spectres set, a couple of pens (striped and Pez girl), and a PVC lanyard. Lastly, my wife and I customized a blank truck to commemorate 18 years together. I go into more detail about my visit to the PVC elsewhere in this issue.

Speaking of return visits, I also made it back to BA Sweeties in Cleveland for the third time this year, on my way out to see family in Western New York. This time around, Sweeties was considerably more stocked than it was in July during Pezamania. And just when I thought I already had everything that was available at the store, out of the corner of my eye I spotted the new Pokemon 30th anniversary collector box! This includes Pikachu, Eevee, and 2 new dispensers, Espeon and Umbreon. I picked up an extra box to open, which worked out well because I later dropped one of the boxes in a hotel parking lot. This made my decision of which box to open a lot easier! And, for good measure, I also picked up a new Pez t-shirt that reads “Take 2 Pez and call me in the morning.”

And finally, right at the end of September, I received another fantastic custom piece from the talented folk artist Steve White. This is a Pez dispenser custom made to be in the shape of a glass Coca-Cola bottle! What a cool and creative work of art this is. Steve also threw in a few rolls of cola flavored Pez candy (which happens to be one of my favorite flavors). Check out an animated GIF of this mighty fine thing in action. Thanks so much, Steve!

Here is a picture of my September scores (minus the t-shirt), which you can click for a larger view.

Return To Center: Hello Again, PVC! | top

It was an enormous thrill to make my way back to the Pez Visitor Center (PVC) in Orange, Connecticut in September. I’ve been to the PVC a few times before, including a factory tour that was part of the Northeast Pez Convention in 2012. But it’s been more than 9 years since my last visit, so it’s fair to say that I was long overdue to return.

Helped in part by a new direct flight from Indianapolis to New Haven (a town well known for both its pizza and its close proximity to the PVC), adorned in one of my favorite Pez shirts, and joined by my lovely, Pez-enabling wife Jessi, I was immersed in the wonder of Pez as soon as we got to the parking lot and I beheld that marvelous building. I was just so overwhelmed by its sheer immensity, I had to pop myself a Pez (h/t BBoTiM, IYKYK). Here’s a picture of me in front of the PVC before we even went inside!

We paid our very reasonably priced admission of $5 each, which included a $2 credit towards merchandise. Right off the bat we were greeted again by the massive Pez dispenser near the door. It never fails to impress!

The overall look of the PVC has not changed much over the years, which is a good thing because it’s laid out very well. There is a history of Pez through the decades on the wall, plenty of fun and games scattered throughout the place, lots of Pez stuff available for purchase, and basically just something neat to look at everywhere you turn.

The highlight of the PVC is the massive display of Pez dispensers and other items. These are spread out across its 2 floors. This includes artwork, classic advertisements, a Pez presenter girl uniform, and even a motorcycle. There are dispensers dating back to the very early years, convention dispensers, recent releases, prototypes that you won’t find anywhere else, and much more. And as you can imagine, this display has grown quite a lot over the past 9 years, what with all of the new Pez that has been released over that time. Even as a collector who has seen a lot of this stuff in person at conventions and online in Facebook groups, there’s nothing quite like seeing all of it together in person (with the added bonus of seeing the factory workers on the job behind the glass).

Almost all of these Pez items are from the personal collection of the man who runs the PVC, Shawn Peterson. I’ve known Shawn for quite a while. I see him every year at the big Pezamania convention in Cleveland and I’m the proud owner of the multiple Pez books that he’s written as a collector and historian of Pez. Shawn recently appeared on MeTV’s “Collector’s Call” and on “CBS Sunday Morning". And, fun fact, I used Shawn’s book “Collector's Guide to Pez, vol 3” as the basis for the categories in my Pez spreadsheet and photo albums.

So you can imagine my surprise when, as I was carefully looking over a cabinet display, who should appear behind me but Shawn himself! I knew Shawn worked there but I certainly did not expect him to show up when we were there. Jes saw him before I did and when I turned I was definitely taken by surprise. We had a great catch up chat. He told us about how he got started working for Pez and how he got the PVC rolling, and some other fun stories along the way. Shawn also touched on some of PEZ’s plans for next year, including what is now publicly revealed to be the PEZ Company's 100th Birthday Party (register as soon as you can at www.pez100.com).

Here is a picture of Shawn and me!

In addition to catching up with Shawn, my wife and I took a selfie upstairs and also posed for some silly pictures at the “You’re Not Famous Until They Put Your Head On A PEZ Dispenser!” photo op.

As I mentioned earlier, there was lots of Pez stuff for sale at the PVC. I didn’t come home with all of it (mainly because it would not fit in the suitcase), but I definitely used that $4 merchandise credit that came with the price of admission. Elsewhere in this issue, I run down all of the scores I picked up at the PVC and also show them in a picture, but I wanted to go into a bit more detail about a few of them here.

First, I picked up a new PVC tin bucket and filled it with their “mix your own” Pez candies. Although my two favorite flavors are no longer available (chocolate and cola), I made do with a combination of grape, lemon, and orange. And no, the candy did not make it back home with us because we (mostly I) ate it all before we got on the plane. I usually don’t eat the Pez candy, but when you get it right from the PVC, well, what are you gonna do. Also, this tin bucket is my fourth from the PVC. Here’s a picture of all of them together!

There was also an area at the PVC where people could make their own custom dispensers, which were blank dispensers that could be decorated with either stickers or markers. These blank dispensers included pucks, balls, and trucks. Jessi and I customized a dispenser to commemorate being together for 18 years. At a previous visit to the PVC, we customized a puck to commemorate 6 years together. This time around, we customized a truck to commemorate 18 years together. At some point down the road, we’ll go back to customize another dispenser. It will be a ball! (See what I did there?). Here is a picture of the puck and truck. The markers at the PVC don’t transfer well to the dispensers, so next time around I think we’ll bring a Sharpie.

After all of that sweet PVC merch was paid for, we were almost ready to leave the PVC. But I couldn’t say goodbye without snapping a couple more pics. The first was a picture from the rotating slideshow playing on the monitor in the lobby. This picture was of two of my fandoms colliding- the 1966 Batmobile parked in front of the PVC!

The second picture was of me and Jes back out in the parking lot before we got in the car and drove off. The sun was out and man, life was good.

When it was all over, those 2 hours we spent at the PVC went by in the blink of an eye. I had such a great time at this place, and I’m grateful to Jes for joining me and making the visit even more special. Thanks again to Shawn for his time and his stories. And, especially with this direct flight to New Haven, I strongly suspect it won’t be another 9 years before I make it back to the PVC. Who knows, I may even make it back next year! Perhaps for the PEZ Company's 100th Birthday Party in April! Whenever I get back there, I’ll be sure to tell you all about it, right here on the pages of Pezhead Monthly.

(Re)introducing My Batman Pez Card Display | top

My Batman Pez display includes many different parts, such as official dispensers, custom dispensers, collector sets, and photos and artwork. But one big part of it is my carded Batman Pez display.

Unfortunately, due to a home repair that took place in August 2025, I needed to take all of my Batman Pez off of the corkboards on the wall. Coupled with this, my Batman Pez card collection has grown so much over the years that I needed another corkboard to display them all. I had been putting this project off for quite a while and it was definitely a cloud that was hanging over me and my Pez room.

In August of this year, over a year later, I finally got my Batman Pez display put together and, may I say, it looks fantastic.

First, here’s a flashback to how the carded display looked as of December 2020.

And now, here are a couple of pictures of my new Batman Pez carded display as of September 2026.

The first picture contains all of the official Batman Pez cards I have in my collection, including some factory errors at the bottom. These cards are displayed by order of release and in some cases also by card design.

You can click on each corkboard to get a closer look at the cards on that board.

The second picture is the newest category of Batman Pez cards in my display, which I call my Batman Pez carded custom collection. These include custom Batman Pez dispensers, made either by me or one of the talented artists in the Pez community, and placed inside another card.

You may note that there are a few empty racks in this display. Rest assured that I have more than enough ideas of other Batman Pez carded customs to fill these racks. In fact, I’ll definitely need a bigger display for them eventually. I hope to have some time soon to turn these ideas into reality, and will post an update or two in a future issue.

Pez Poetry | top

Pez Haiku #203

“It’s alive!” he yelled,
Flipping the switch, then the Pez.
Frankly, electric.

Jack

There once was a Pezhead named Jack
Who longed for the Pez that he lacked.
All work and no play
Filled up most of his days
But he often found Pez on the racks.

IN Crowdvania Mania

Now that we’re well beyond the thrill of Pezamania,
It’s time to join the IN Crowd and go to Pezylvania.
Two gatherings far apart, but closer than you think,
For it’s the love of Pez that is their special link.
It’s where we find the friends and treasures that we seek,
And it’s all done again in just another week.
So raise a glass to IN Crowd and Pezylvania too!
I think I’ll hit them both… my Pez Pal, how ’bout you?

Happy Halloween from Pezhead Monthly | top

And finally, Halloween will once again be upon us at the end of this month. And hey, did you know that Pezhead Monthly has TWO special pages dedicated to all of the Halloween features from the current issue and the archive? It’s true!

The first page includes various Halloween poems, pictures, and other features. There’s lots of stuff to look through. You can check it out here.

The second page specifically features all of the Egg Baby Pez horror movie poster parodies that have appeared in Pezhead Monthly. Counting the latest one that is the cover image for this current issue, there are 13 total Egg Baby Pez horror movie poster parodies so far. Check them all out here!