Coca-Cola Collectors Club Autumn Sale...

Beverage Currently Consuming: 'Cheers' grape soda from Mayasia!

OK, so it seems I've been a bit too lazy when it comes to posting a new Blog message. I didn't realize anyone was reading it much until a bunch of e-mails hit my box REMINDING me that I promised to write on a semi-regular basis. So, here I am, back for another dose of all things soda pop.

In the beverage world, lots of news lately. Mountain Dew has brought back 'Pitch Black', that tasty black grape soda that's around just until Halloween. And since it did so well last year in the good ol'e U S of A, the fine folks at PepsiCo have seen fit to try it out here in Canada as well. Jones Soda is doing a special Halloween collection of 'Candy Corn' and 'Caramel Apple'... look for this promotion at Target stores in the US (sorry, none coming for us canuckers this time around).

Special to us here has been a 'special edition' Sour Apple Crush - I wrote about it back in the summer. Well, it seems that Sour Apple Crush has nearly come to an end. I saw it on the weekend at a grocery store clearance sale for $0.59 for a 2 L bottle. Not one to pass up a great soda deal, I brought a bottle home with me.

Yesterday was a great day as it was the annual Autumn Coca-Cola Collectors Club Sale in Schomberg, Ontario... home of the world's largest Inukshuk (and little else, trust me). If you don't know what an Inukshuk is, well, then, I guess you don't watch enough television. Anyway, the Coke sale is the Ontario Chapter's second biggest event of the year (the first being their Brampton Yard Sale held in June each year). There were tables of Coke stuff galore, and yes, there were lots of eager buyers. If you're a Coke-a-holic, this is the sale for you... hundreds of Coca-Cola items both new and old such as: trays, bottles, cans, signs, glasses, furniture, clocks, vintage items from the past, and tons of Coke trinkets. This sale brings folks from all over Ontario (and sometimes even Michigan).

I was a vendor there yesterday selling copies of Soda Pop Dreams Magazine, and The Soda Spectrum Series, and wouldn't you know it... they gave me the booth spot that was smack dab beside the site's Pepsi machine. But, since I'm not one to dwell on my misfortunes, I made the best of the situation - and snapped a candid shot of the Ontario Chapter Coke President buying a Pepsi from said machine when he wasn't looking. Busted. No, it's not a doctored shot. Yes, I am posting it here.

I had the opportunity to chat with a number of fellow collectors... Joe, Bill, Ron, Elizabeth, a fellow vendor next to me whose name escapes me at the moment, and some great buyers who are just now discovering Soda Pop Dreams Magazine and Soda Spectrum Series. And.......... (get ready for gratuituous plug), YOU need to discover these print edition magazines too!! So click on over to Soda Pop Dreams Magazine or The Soda Spectrum right now. Or, at least as soon as you finish reading this Blog posting.

The point to all this rambling is this: the hobby of soda pop collecting is at an all-time high. And many people are just now getting in on the fun. There are tons of Coca-Cola sales and shows all over the US - so check with your local Chapter of the Coca-Cola Collectors Club at: http://www.cocacolaclub.org. Thanks to all who came out to the Schomberg Sale for their business, and for the great cola conversation. Lots more photos from the Schomberg sale coming soon to the Soda Pop Dreams website, so keep an eye out over there.

That's it for now... oh, and before I forget - big shout out to TheBarqsMan for his kind words about my Blog, and for plugging it on his ultra cool Barq's website. Check it out at: http://thebarqsman.com.

Take care, and happy collecting!