| July 2026 |
Thinking
Outside The Dispenser Since 2001
|
|
|
|
Hello and Happy July from Pezhead Monthly! We’re six candy bricks into this wild and crazy year and there’s still a few more flips to go. The big Pez story in June was the Pez.com lottery that took place for the exclusive 2026 Las Vegas Sweets and Snacks Heart dispenser. As with previous years, people joined the lottery by entering their email on Pez.com. The lucky winners were then notified via email, and then given the chance to purchase the exclusive dispenser for $50, with all proceeds going to the Connecticut Humane Society. I’ve been very fortunate to have been selected for this lottery for the past 2 years, but my good luck streak ended this year as I did not get the email. A number of my Pez pals also were not selected. But, I did see that a good number of Pezheads were selected for the first time, including some folks newer to the hobby. I think this is great! Congratulations to all the winners, this is a cool treasure to add to your collection. If I see this dispenser at a good price online or at a convention, I may pick it up. Later in June, two other exciting Pez things happened. First, it was announced that the Pez Palz website is back! Pez Palz has consistently been one of the best sources of Pez news (both US and International) but, due to a technical error a few months ago, unexpectedly went offline. Now at a new URL, pezpals.com, it is BACK, including its archives and lots of very helpful pictorials. I'm very happy that Nenad and Kristin were able to get everything rolling again. This is such an awesome resource for the Pez community and we all appreciate them. The other big thing that happened later in June was the release of the exclusive Red, White, and Blue Duck on Pez.com. (Pez Pals has a story and picture of it.) Although the drop itself was not a huge surprise, since a picture of the exclusive duck leaked online a few months ago, the timing certainly was: approximately 5pm Eastern time, which is quite late in the day compared to other Pez.com exclusive drops. I happened to check my phone before cutting the grass and scooped it right up. It will be included in next month's issue, along with the rest of my July scores. In my own little corner of the Pez world in June, I attended an event celebrating the movie “Stand By Me” that was followed by a discussion with some of the stars of the movie. This movie has the classic line “If I could only have one food to eat for the rest of my life? That’s easy, Pez. Cherry flavor Pez. No question about it.” This was especially relevant to my experience at the event. I go into more detail here later in this issue. Also in June, on the way to visit my dad in Western New York, I stayed at the Holiday Inn in Independence, Ohio. Pezheads should be quite familiar with this hotel, as it serves as home base for the Pezamania convention in July! It was nice to be back here and I suspect that maybe, just maybe, I will return again soon. While in the area, I visited local favorites Winking Lizard and B.A. Sweetie Candy Company, where I suspect I will be also returning again soon. And speaking of Pezamania, it's hard to believe that the biggest Pez convention in the universe is just a few weeks away! This is always such a fun time and I am looking forward to heading out there to see all of my Pez pals and pick up lots more Pez for my collection. I’ve been preparing for a little while and will continue to do so pretty much right up to the day I leave for the big show. I should be wrapping up my swag (a special item that ties into the 25th anniversary of Pezhead Monthly) in about a week or so. Then there’s the definitely-not-small matters of putting together my wish list and packing up my extras to sell out of my room. I’ll share my experiences and pictures in the next issue, so stay tuned. And if you’ll also be attending Pezamania, I look forward to seeing you there! Lastly, a few days ago I was very sad to learn of the passing of a dear fellow Pezhead, Randy Marshall. Randy was a sweet and funny guy who I always enjoyed seeing and catching up with at Pezamania and at the Virtual Pez Convention. Randy also put together a price guide for the Giant Pez dispensers. Randy’s passing was a shock and a blow to the Pez community, and Pezamania just won’t be the same without him. Here’s to you, Randy! This month’s issue of Pezhead Monthly kicks off with a cover image that’s a Pez parody of the poster for the movie “The American President.“ I thought this was a fitting movie poster to Pezzify, given the big 250-year celebration of America in July. Also in this issue is a recap of my experience at the event “Stand By Me: The Film And Its Stars 40 Years Later,” which involved a Pez-flavored twist. In addition, there is a Pez Almost-Quote (and accompanying Pez photo parody) that is a bit Strange, but I hope you Love it nonetheless. Rounding out this issue is some Pez Poetry (including a Pezamania poem that I’ll be hanging outside my hotel room) and a rundown of my June-ish scores. Thanks as always for reading Pezhead Monthly. Take care and see you soon! Joe Durrant 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.
From Pez.com, arriving in late May after last month’s Pezhead Monthly issue was published, I picked up a bunch of stuff. First off, I got the exclusive new Kid Guard dispenser, which is the first in hopefully a long series of Pez that tie in to various artists. Kid Guard is a painting by popular Austrian artist JF Krichbaum. (There’s more info on the Pez website here.) At $30, this was a bit pricey for a single dispenser, but since it was an exclusive I figured what the heck. I also got the new Toy Story 5 set, which includes updated versions of Woody, Buzz, and Jessie. Along with these new dispensers, I also got the 2 new Toy Story 2-packs (Woody/Buzz and Woody/Jessie). Lastly from Pez.com, I picked up 2 tote bags, one with vintage dispensers and with dispensers from the recent (and ongoing) treat line, including the Taco, Hamburger, Cupcake, and more. I may need to use one of these tote bags at the upcoming Pezamania convention! From Hobby Lobby, I finally picked up the newest Minecraft dispenser I’ve been on the hunt for: the TNT dispenser. I found this one on the road, actually, at a Hobby Lobby in Rochester, NY while on a visit with my dad. As a bonus, from the same store and at the same visit, I picked up a factory error Pokemon Gengar dispenser that is facing sideways. Speaking of factory errors, at a collectible store in Rochester, NY, I found a factory error Stormtrooper, mint in bag. The error in question is that the head is separated from the body, but still in the bag. What’s especially interesting about this error is that I found the same one on another Stormtrooper Pez, mint on card back in October 2025. Here is a picture of both factory errors, one in bag and one on card! From Pez Collector’s News (PCN), I picked up the June/July 2026 issue of PCN. The cover states that it is Vol 32/Issue 3, but by my records it is actually Vol 32/Issue 4. So I guess that makes 3 factory errors in June! This issue of PCN is another great one, including recent Pez sightings, an article about buying and flipping exclusive Pez, and the letters, checklists, and classifieds that are in each issue. If you don’t already subscribe to PCN, I recommend doing so. Here is a link to subscribe. From the website Sneakerbox, I picked up the exclusive Sneakerbox Jersey dispenser. It's pretty cool! This also happened to be the second recent exclusive that I picked up that cost $30, a price I was not too happy about. But I tell myself that most exclusives on the Pez website are about $6, so I am OK with splurging for an outlier here or there. If you're interested in adding this to your collection, it's still available as of this writing here. From World Market, I scored a Pez gift bag. This is not an officially licensed product, but it does have a nice variety of hand-drawn Pez dispensers on it, with a few vintage (Yappy Dog and Pony) mixed in with dispensers from the current era like Wonder Woman, Ladybug, Kermit, and more. The dispensers don't actually say "PEZ" on them, but some of them have words like "WOW," "PARTY" and, in the closest instance, "YES." This would make a lovely bag to give a gift in! Well, not this particular bag, because it's staying in my collection. And lastly, from Juggyusa.com and falling under the category of “Pez-adjacent” scores, I picked up a “Seinfeld” 40 oz hot/cold tumbler. What makes this a Pez-adjacent score, you may ask? Well, among the many items and quotes from the iconic “Seinfeld” TV show included on the tumbler, there is the Tweety Pez dispenser that was featured in a Season 3 episode (the episode was fittingly titled “The Pez Dispenser”). The tumbler in in the picture below, and here is a closer look at the Tweety Pez on the tumbler. I suspect I may be bringing this tumbler to Pezamania later this month to stay hydrated when room hopping or at various other Pez activities. Alas, as of this writing, this item is out of stock, but you can enter your email to be notified when it is back in stock. Here is a picture
of all of my June-ish scores mentioned above. You can click on it for
a larger view.
On June 30, with just hours left to go in the month, I was thrilled to open my mailbox to find a package from Chad Foster, a Pez artist whose various 3D prints have really caught my eye on the Facebook groups lately. The package from Chad contained 4 custom Bat Signal Pez dispensers (with the Burton and Nolan logos, both in white and yellow), as well as a cloud of exhaust smoke that fits a Pez dispenser in it. The Bat signal dispensers have actual lights in them and can be turned on and off. Here is how that looks!
Chad did an incredible job with these custom Pez, and I cannot wait to add them to my Batcave. Here is picture of them all lit up, along with the cloud of exhaust smoke. (The custom Pez inside the smoke, with the stem of a Rocket Pez and the head of Batman, is one that I created myself.)
In June, I attended the event “Stand By Me: The Film And Its Stars 40 Years Later” in Indianapolis with my lovely wife. This included a showing of the movie “Stand By Me” followed by a moderated discussion with three of its stars: Corey Feldman, Jerry O'Connell, and Wil Wheaton. It was a great time and, as a bonus, it concluded with an unexpected and wonderful Pez experience. “Stand By Me” is a classic, beloved movie from the 1980s, and it’s also well known in the Pez community because of the line from the movie, “If I could only have one food to eat for the rest of my life? That’s easy, Pez. Cherry flavor Pez. No question about it.” In my Pez room, there are numerous items with this quote on it, including a standard sized poster, a smaller 11x17 poster, and a Blu-Ray of the movie. I’ve also referenced the movie and this quote in one of my Pez song parodies, appropriately titled “Cherry Pez.” In addition, there is a “Stand By Me” movie premium that includes a Pez Boy dispenser a postcard-sized version of the poster in a bag. I don’t have this piece in my collection yet, but perhaps someday. Despite all of this, and despite having 2 versions of “Stand By Me” in my collection (Blu-Ray and DVD), I had never actually seen the movie. So I was pretty excited to be seeing it for the first time at this event. We arrived at the
venue and got a picture in front of the marquee. Here I am in one of
my favorite Pez shirts, very happy to be there with my lovely wife.
As we got in line outside, we noticed up ahead that one of the film’s stars, Jerry O’Connell, was working the line ahead of us, greeting people, taking selfies with them, and just generally being a cool dude. As he got closer to us, I got my phone out, hoping to get a selfie of us with him. However, fate had other plans. Literally right after meeting with the people in front of us in line, Jerry announced he had to get back inside for the event. We were so close, yet so far away! He did compliment me on my Pez shirt, so that was a pretty nifty consolation prize. Before we knew it, we were in our seats and the movie began. I really enjoyed its mix of humor, drama, and heart. The cast was great, too. Unfortunately, the sound in the venue could have been a lot better, and I missed some lines because people were talking over (or with) them. I’m sure I’ll watch the movie again at home sometime for a fuller experience. After a brief intermission, Jerry, Corey, and Wil came out for the panel discussion. What a lively and informative time that was! They told stories from the set, talked about some of the scenes (including some of the goofs), and even recreated part of the train chase scene. Jerry and Wil even took off their jackets to reveal they were wearing the shirts that their characters wore in the movie! They were animated, funny, and clearly having a good time. There was also a nice tribute to director Rob Reiner, including an empty director’s chair on the stage. The event ended with a video of Rob explaining why this was his most personal and important film. After the event, my wife and I waited in the merch line, because we had noticed that there was a sticker set that included a reference to Cherry Pez. As we got closer to the table, it seemed clear that they had run out of the sticker sets. A bit dejected, we were just about ready to head out… … Until, around the corner, who should appear once again than Mr. Jerry O’Connell! This was quite surprising since he had already been greeting audience members before the show. We made our way over to him and (as I recall) patiently waited to get his attention. And then, we got our selfie redemption!
As if all of this wasn’t enough, the nearly literal cherry on top of this sundae of a story is what happened after the above selfie. Out of his pocket, Jerry pulled out a couple rolls of Cherry Pez flavored candy and gave them to me. Now think about that for just a second if you will. Jerry O’Connell, who played Vern Tessio in “Stand By Me,” the character who said that iconic line “If I could only have one food to eat for the rest of my life? That’s easy, Pez. Cherry flavor Pez. No question about it”, hands me a couple rolls of Cherry Pez! Are you kidding me?! I tell you, friends, I’ve had some great moments in my time as a Pez collector. I’ve met the then-president of PEZ Candy, Inc., Joe Vittoria, and gave him a paper copy of Pezhead Monthly’s poetry. I’ve toured the Pez candy factory to get a behind-the-scenes look at how the candies are made and the Pez packages are assembled. I’ve hosted a live Pez Poetry Slam at Pezamania. And that unexpected moment with Jerry O’Connell handing me Cherry Pez candy? It ranks right up there as one of my most treasured Pez experiences ever. No question about it.
Bobby There once was a
Pezhead named Bobby Pez Haiku #201 Watching the World
Cup, A Perfect Summer Gift P repping
for the show,
This month’s Pez Almost-Quote is inspired by a line from the classic film “Dr. Strangelove.” I hope you enjoy it, along with the accompanying Pez photo parody of the moment in the movie when the original line was spoken! For more Pez Almost-Quotes, click here.
|
Follow
Pezhead Monthly on Facebook
| Twitter | E-mail
If you would like to contribute to Pezhead Monthly, click
here for the submission policy.
Copyright © 2001-2026 JoePez Publications
"Pezhead Monthly" is in no way affiliated with PEZ Candy, Inc.
PEZ is a registered trademark of PEZ Candy Company Inc., Orange,
Connecticut.
Enjoy Pez, but please do so responsibly.
