Brian did it again for us :D
For all those who did not have the chance to attend the
PEZCIFIC PEZ Convention
we are happy and proud to share with you Brian's convention report.
Hello everyone!
I'm sitting at LAX waiting for my flight, and thought this would
be the perfect time (while fresh in my memory!) to write down my very happy
experiences the past few days at Pezcific!
Thursday
Up at 5am,
ready to go!
After a very easy flight from Chicago to Los Angeles, I was greeted
at the airport by a smiling face, Phyllis Oreck. Thank you so much Phyllis for
picking me up! After a quick drive we arrived at the Ayres Hotel.
Of course you
are always a little hesitant when something so familiar changes, but I should
have known that Maheba wouldn't let us down... this new hotel was very nice. I
felt like I was in the Mediterranean! As we made our way through the hotel I was
quickly greeted by many familiar faces,
as the Pez party was already in full
swing.
After saying hellos, giving hugs, having a delicious lunch,
and
lots of laughs, the Pez shopping began.
A decent amount of PEZHeads had already
arrived on Wednesday or Thursday morning, and the room hopping had already
begun.
I caught up on currents, got some vintage, browsed through fantastic
paper finds I had never seen before... Pezcific was already off to a great
start.
After I was done with shopping, I figured it was time to earn some
of it back (as if you ever get to keep your money in this hobby Phyllis and I
set up our room and started the task of pricing everything. A H-U-G-E shout-out
to Jessica Orozco, Landon Proctor, and Travis Clifford for helping me out... it
was a very fast and efficient process and I greatly appreciate your
help!
As we opened our room (a few people were trying to get early
peeks!)
more familiar faces came in to say hi and shop.
That's the best part of
conventions right there - seeing your "family", catching up, and sharing a lot
of laughs!
Before we knew it, it was time for dinner.
The scavenger hunt
was about to begin, but my stomach told me I needed to pay it some attention. A
few of us decided to take Maheba's advice and head to Pancho's for dinner....
what an incredible Mexican meal.
Not only was the good delicious, but the
restaurant had great decor and atmosphere, including a 2-story main dining room
in a courtyard setting which we absolutely loved.
Thanks Maheba for the great
advice!
When we got back to the hotel most of the PEZHeads were hanging
out in the lobby and the hotel bar, so of course we joined them.
A few more
people had shown up, and I stayed up until 1am (shhhhhhh I'm an "old 36" and
need my rest hahahaha) until it was time to head to the room. Day 1 is in the
books!
Friday
After a great breakfast in the hotel restaurant, I
took another stroll through the open rooms to see what Pezzy treasures I could
find.
It amazes me that after 20 years in this hobby (where has the time
gone?!?!?)
I can always find things I have never seen before.
This year's cool
"find" for me were different sticker inserts from the 1980s
(I think) that I had
never seen before... some foil, some oversized,
some with great graphics. I was
one happy guy!
After a workout in the hotel gym and quick shower, it was
time to head to the seminars. I caught part of Denise's Pez Collecting 101,
where you can always learn something new!
Gary Barbuto had also begun setting up
the entries for the Pez Art Contest for everyone to see and vote on; there is
definitely A LOT of talent in this hobby. There were some really great pieces!
It was a hard choice for sure to pick my top 3.
Soon the second seminar
began; Bobby Acker led a really interesting discussion on fantasy Pez. It was
very interactive as well; different collectors had brought along some of their
homemade or acquired fantasy dispensers and gave a little presentation. Very
interesting to see what people come up with; after seeing Richard Ruelas'
dispenser that looks just like him, I think it's time to make a Brian dispenser
of my own.
As we were sitting in the fantasy seminar I could see a
lot
of people checking their phones...
it was almost like in the movies when a bunch
of phones go off
at the same time in a crowd.
What's going on, what's going on?
It seems a new dispenser had surfaced on eBay
of the Energizer Bunny that had
everyone talking.
Was it real?
What perfect timing,
at the fantasy
dispenser seminar! It turns out with a little digging on some of the Facebook
groups that it is indeed a legit dispenser confirmed by Shawn Peterson
(surprise!!!!!!) and will be out soon.
Hooray, something to hunt for! I truly do
love the unexpected surprises that we don't know about in advance
(like The
Rolling Stones exhibit dispensers, or the Mini Cooper Bulldog)
I think it keeps
this hobby going when you don't always know everything that's coming out ahead
of time. Got to stay on your toes!
After dinner in the hotel (it was
pouring outside but I didn't really notice, we were having too much fun!!!) it
was time to get ready for Bingo.
As we waited for the ballroom doors to open,
Jil and Dan Borchers had their Pezzy photo booth open for some group pictures...
yes please! Some funny pictures and great memories to take home!
The
festivities began and right away they had the presentation
for PEZHead of the
year.
We were all saddened that Chris Jordan's father had just passed away and
she wasn't able to make it to LA to pass the torch to the next recipient.
Chris,
we are all thinking of you and your family during this difficult time and we all
love you!
Chris' daughter Bethany was there in her place though and we
all soon learned the next honoree to receive his incredible award....
Our table erupted in shouts of congratulations and high fives and
hugs and Jessica looked in disbelief that her name was called.
I have known
Jessica for a while now and can honestly say that she is one of my absolute best
friends, not only in this great hobby, but as a part of my life.
I cannot
imagine a more deserving person for this award.
From hosting the annual
Christmas Gathering at her house (for which she doesn't charge a single penny),
to co-running the Pez Auction page with Joey Jackson on Facebook, to traveling
all over to the different conventions, and most importantly, being a great
friend to so many in his hobby.... congratulations Jessica,
I am so proud of
you!!!!!
After the PHOTY presentation,
Maheba was at the podium to talk
about the future of Pezcific.
As many of us know, sadly this was the last year
that she is hosting the convention.
We were informed that there are currently
ongoing negotiations for a new host, and that the information would be made
public
as soon as everything is 100% finalized.
Maheba, I wanted to take this
opportunity to formally thank you for all that you have done for this hobby over
the years.
I have always had a blast each time I have come to Pezcific, and it
is because of you and your incredible family that I have always looked forward
to the next convention the minute the current one is over.
Thank you!!!!
Ok, time for Bingo!
The prizes this year were simply AMAZING.
So much
vintage; it was exciting to play each and every game!
Rob Yarak sat with us at
our table, and apologized in advance because he is so "unlucky".... well it
couldn't have been further from the truth. Our table won so many times, I think
Maheba should have just stayed
at our table with the prizes!!!
Congrats to all
of the winners, they are all going home with some fantastic additions to their
collection.
After Bingo was over, Phyllis and I re-opened our room to
sell more Pez. We had a decent amount of people wandering the halls and buying
things,so I was definitely happy!
Saturday
Saturday always comes
so quickly....
up early and time to set-up my dealer table!
The ballroom opened
at 9am to registered attendees and 10am to the general public, and sales began
right away.
Especially in the back corner where Larry LaFoe had his fantastic 5
items for $3 sale.... you can imagine the collectors digging through his many
boxes to see what items he was selling (yes I was one of them! Hahahaha).
Soon
that sale went from $3 to $1 to FREE..... someone give that man a cookie for
being one of the few to say they "sold everything" at a convention.
After the selling was done, the charity auction began.
Part of the
auction this year included the fantastic art pieces that PEZHeads had
made/donated for the art contest.
Some of them went for a good chunk of change!
I myself am going home with a great Pez girl piece. Great job to
Darren/Veronica/Gary for organizing the charity items and to our fantastic
auctioneer Landon Proctor (and his fabulous "Vanna" Alec Miller) for a job well
done to benefit Camp Ronald McDonald.
Some great items are going home to some
great collectors,
which benefitted a great cause.
As the convention
winded down, it was time for one more dinner with friends. We went back to
Pancho's (seriously go check that place out next time!) and had quite a few
laughs. It was a nice way to end a great trip to LA.
Sadly, it's now
time to head home.
But as I sit in the airport writing this, I have a big smile
on my face for the many great memories I'm taking home with me!
Until the
next convention,
Brian Jaskolski
THANK YOU BRIAN FOR YOUR GREAT
REPORT AND ALL THE PICTURES <3
