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NE PezCon 14, Part 2: The Factory
Tour, The Scores, and More (continued) top of
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As I left
the Pez Visitor’s Center that day, a bit weary from all of the
adventures, two major thoughts crossed my mind: first, to repeat a
sentiment in Part 1 of this recap, this was such a great experience
that really made being a Pezhead so special. And second, I knew that I
would be back. In fact, I was already planning my return: the very next
day, after the convention ended and I started on my journey back home.
And return I did! More on that in a bit.
On
the bus back to the hotel, it seemed that everyone was quite happy but
also quite tired. It had been a long day, filled with Pez scores,
crowds, tours, and more. I did manage to load up the photos I took onto
my iPad to get a better look at some of them, and I shared the photos
with other Pezheads on the bus. But mainly, we just rested.
After
getting back to the hotel and having some dinner at a great local pizza
place (I’m looking at you, Remo’s!) I headed back for the big Pez bingo
event in the hotel ballroom.
Richie started things off by
thanking us all for coming to the convention and commenting on how
special that Visitor’s Center trip was. The applause coming from the
crowd indicated that this was definitely a shared sentiment. He asked
for a show of hands of people who had met the president of Pez Inc.,
and I would say about half of our hands went up. That’s a lot of
people, and it also speaks to Joe’s kindness and appreciation of all of
us Pezheads. Richie went into a bit more detail about how everything
came together and again thanked the nice people at Pez Candy for being
so welcoming to all of us. Again, the applause in the room indicated
much agreement with that.
But I’m not going to lie: by this
point, I was starting to fade, fast. Because of the overwhelming
adventure of the Visitor’s Center, sure, but I also think maybe
skipping lunch was a factor. But I soldiered on, because that’s how we
Pezheads roll at conventions. As for my success rate at Pez Bingo, my
Facebook post on the topic speaks for itself:
But
it wasn’t just the fact that in each game I was either this close or
else I was nowhere in the same ballpark, league, or sport. It was the
fact that I also forgot the ticket that was in my registration packet.
This ticket contained a special number that was to be used for door
prizes. As Richie called out number after number, I winced just a
little more, wondering if that was my number. But there were a lot of
unclaimed numbers, leading me to conclude that either other people had
forgotten to bring their tickets, or that they did not come to Pez
Bingo (though it was a pretty packed house).
One of my Pez
friends saw me slouched over, face in hand, minor headache developing,
partially worn down from the events of the day and partially bummed
about the Pez Bingo situation, and wrote me this little poem.
Thanks
again for the nice poem, Wendy, but alas I only shouted to myself. And
this is a family-friendly publication, so I won’t repeat what I said.
The
evening was not a total bummer, though. As it wore on, Richie and Mary
realized they had some extra prizes to give away, and began running up
and down the aisles, basically throwing shirts and pins into the crowd.
(I bet one of those t-shirt cannons would have come in handy!). I
managed to score a shirt that says “Pez Rocks.” It’s not quite my size,
but after a few months of extreme fasting I may be able to fit into it.
And another shirt actually came my way a bit later, and although it was
my size, the guy in front of me caught it at the same time I did, so I
relented. Partially because I already got one, and partially because I
was getting really tired and not in the mood to play tug-of-war.
At one point, Richie threw a shirt a little too high, and it ended up getting stuck in the light fixture.
After
Pez Bingo, I made an earnest attempt to go room hopping. I maybe got
one or two more items, but that was about it. I shuffled back to my
room and was in bed and asleep pretty quickly, after a very long and
rewarding day.
The next day was the Saturday floor show, and due
to the added crowds this year, it was notably busier than last year. I
went around the room a couple of times, seeing Pez friends and dealers
one last time (well, until Cleveland in July) and picking up a few
other scores. Although I will highlight all of my scores scores with
words and pictures at the end of this recap, I would like to mention
here that I got another dispenser from the great Eerie Spectre set at
the Saturday floor show. Last year I got Diabolic,
and this year it was the quite awesome Spook. What will be the next one
in the set to be added to my collection? I’m not sure, but I suspect I
will find out in Cleveland!
After saying one last goodbye and
thank you to Richie and Mary, I left the ballroom and, with that,
another fantastic convention.
But, there was one last piece of
unfinished business: a return to the Pez Visitor’s Center. I knew that
it would be open after the Saturday floor show, so I hopped in the car
and made the drive up I-95, hoping that it would be a little less
congested than the day before. After all, this was quite a distance
away from home, and I did not know when I would be able to make it out
there again.
It turns out that it was actually a lot less
congested. I was able to get a better look at many aspects of the
center, without all of the crowds. One of the first things I noticed
that day that I did not the day before was the very cool benches, in
the shape of Pez candy rolls!
I took some more pictures of some of the great artwork. Here are just a few examples.
(click pictures for
larger versions)
And,
full disclosure, some of the display pictures from Part 1 of this recap
were taken on the second day I went to the Visitor’s Center, when it
was a heck of a lot less busy and it was a lot easier to take some good
photos!
After loading up another tin of Pez candy, and, yes,
getting even more sweet Pez merchandise, I said one last goodbye to the
Pez Visitor’s Center and began my long journey back home.
Looking
back, there were a couple of things that I wish could have gone better,
but they were mainly due to my own condition and the nature of this
particular Pez convention. First off, due to the long drive, I was
pretty tired for almost the whole time I was there. So I did not get as
much of a chance to socialize with people as I have in the past. Also,
a very large amount of my time, energy, and, yes, money was focused on
the Pez Visitor’s Center and the factory tour (as this recap will
surely attest to!). Although I knew this would be the case going into
NE PezCon 14, I still felt bad about not having a lot of time to room
hop and enjoy other aspects of the convention. I am sure that at
Pezamania, I will have more of an opportunity to chat with friends and
dealers and to take in more aspects of the convention; I just wish that
I could have done it in Connecticut too!
But with all of that
being said, it really was such a great time and I am very glad that I
went. In fact, I would say all in all, it was probably the best time I
have ever had in my 18 years as a Pezhead, in particular my time at the
Pez Visitor’s Center. Not only in terms of the overall experience, but
also some of the individual moments, like meeting the president of the
company and eating a Pez candy right off the presses.
And, of course, there were the scores. Lots of scores! Here is what I picked up from the convention itself:
Yes, that is another Batman on card, to go with my ever growing Batman card collection-
and, it happens to be the oldest card I have yet. Here is a closer look
at that card, along with the 2 other vintage pieces in the above
picture: a die-cut Mickey on non-footed stem, and my second Eerie
Spectre, Spook!   
As
for my scores from the Visitor's Center, they were quite plentiful.
Here's a pictorial rundown of most of it (missing from these
pictures are a couple of t-shirts, a stylin’ baseball cap, and some
extras that I got of certain items): (click pictures for
larger versions)
European tins.
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Some dispensers on special cards that can only be found at the Visitor's Center.
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Three "blank" dispensers- a truck, a ball, and a hockey puck- that come with stickers to customize them.
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Some groovy Pez magnets. |
Two new dispensers that might not be in stores for a while: Catwoman and a redesigned Pumpkin!
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Some nifty Pez postcards. Wish you were here! | 
An
exclusive Visitor's Center Pez Pal, and one of the buckets that I
filled with delicious Pez candy (chocolate and cola flavors, of course) | 
A Police Pez t-shirt.
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Thanks
again to everyone who made NE PezCon 14 and in particular the Pez
factory visit such a unique and unforgettable experience. And thanks
once again to you, dear reader, for allowing me to share my Pez
adventures with you.
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