Toronto Bottle Show 2008

I'm just back from the 2008 Toronto Bottle Show & Sale held each year at the Humber College Campus in Etobicoke, Ontario. I've been going to this yearly sale for at least the last 6 years or so (more if you count the locations where they used to hold it before Humber College). It's gone through some growing pains - sometimes a particular year will be better than ones in the past. I would say that this year the show was average with a few nice pieces here and there - nothing spectacular but definitely worth the two hour drive for me. Lots and lots of photos and stories from the Toronto Bottle Show coming up in Issue #47 of our Soda Spectrum Series print edition, so make sure you get your copy when it comes out in June.

I'm sure you're all dying to know what the editor of a magazine dedicated to soda pop collecting buys for his personal collection at a sale like this. Well, it's not an ultra rare Coca-Cola piece for thousands; it's not a hundred dollar mint Canadian off-brand bottle, no. Today I picked up an old beat up Canadian 'Canada Dry' can - with rust, holes in the side of it, left for dead in someone's garage or attic... for $1.

A dollar.

Why would I do such a thing? Well it's simple. This can was initially produced to celebrate the opening of Thunder Run at Canada's Wonderland. Actually, it was released as a way to bring people to the sneak preview at Wonderland between June 1-14, 1986. To receive the $6 off your Wonderland admission ticket you had to bring the empty can to the front gate.

This can interests me a great deal because Coca-Cola used this same coupon method with a yearly promotion in the 1990s. If memory serves, they did it for at least two years. But never before have I seen a Canada Dry can with an earlier promotion. It fascinates me to find something like this, especially since the ride is nearly 22 years old, which obviously makes the can that old too. As I mentioned, the can is not in great shape - so if I ever find the same can in better shape, I'll likely replace it on my shelf here in the office. Until then, this beat up old can will sit on display and I'll be just as proud to show it off as my other more 'collectible' pieces.

It's a piece of Canadian history - for a Toronto theme park that has changed ownership numerous times over the past 25 years. For me, I love collectibles that have a story attached to them - how I got them, where I found them, and what they mean to me. Some of my favorites pieces are ones that cost $1 but have a $100 story to tell.