The year is off to a great start with news from Pez Candy, Inc., new Pez surprising us and many more new Pez releases on their way! The Pez Collectors Store is working hard to get all the newest Pez in stock as soon as they are available. Plans are made for the 2010 Kansas City PezHeads Gathering and it is time to get reservations made to attend on May 28 and 29!
First, a piece of news just in from Pez Candy, Inc. The Pez Collectors Store received an email from our Pez Rep stating, “It is official!! Shawn Peterson has joined the staff of Pez Candy, in the Marketing department.” Shawn Peterson is the author of the three editions of The Collector’s Guide to Pez Identification and Price Guide and is someone I personally consider a friend and colleague. Having someone at Pez Candy, Inc. who knows Pez as a collector knows Pez is sure to be a bonus for the collecting community. I am not sure what Shawn will be doing in the Marketing Department, but I have no doubt that whatever the job, Shawn will do it well! With great sadness Pez Candy, Inc. marked the passing of its first president, Mr. Curtis Allina, on December 15, 2009, but their acquisition of Shawn will surely move the company forward in ways Mr. Allina may never have imagined. Congratulations Shawn!
Easter Pez arrived in the Pez Collectors Store and we were surprised to find a new version of the Chocolate Bunny in our first shipment! The head mold is the same as the Bunny E, but the facial details and paint colors are very different. The Chocolate Bunny Pez has two distinct buck teeth and the whiskers are white. The eyes are shaped very differently and overall we think the new Chocolate Bunny looks great!
Our second shipment of Easter Pez brought another surprise. The Lamb Pez in our second shipment came on a fuchsia pink stem which matches the one shown on the 2010 Hippity Hoppities box. Our first shipment included the Lamb on the same blue stem as was released in 2009, so I guess Pez Candy was moving out the older inventory first before adding the new inventory. The stem color matches the nose and mouth nicely and the new lamb looks great on its new stem!
The European Disney Animal Friends are a set of 5 Pez – Bambi, Penny from 101 Dalmatians, Marie from Aristocats, Simba from Lion King and Baloo from Jungle Book. A couple of these Disney Animal friends have now been released in the USA! Bambi has been released on a Bambi card while Penny from 101 Dalmatians has only been found on a generic Best of Disney card. These are appearing in the Disney Assorted mixes, but are not available in a separate Animal Friends mix as was seen in Europe. We have no idea if the other characters will eventually appear in the USA or not.
Pez Co. has given us reason to hope for an early Spring. The new Major League Baseballs for 2010 include the Seattle Mariners, Chicago White Sox and Florida Marlins. These were announced as being available in Spring. We just heard that they are going to be shipping now and our order should arrive very soon! Personally, I can’t wait for Spring to come and getting new Pez makes it all the better!
Last month, we told you about the new full body Winnie the Pooh Pez coming from Europe. These are new Pez Interactive dispensers called Click ‘n Play. The Winnie the Pooh Characters are attached to the top of the dispenser which can be removed from the lower portion of the head of the dispenser. The figures can be played with then reattached to the bases. The Pez dispenser is fully functional with or without the character figures (though it looks like it’s missing something when the character is removed). I have a feeling these will be highly collectible in the future as many will be taken apart and never reassembled. I suspect that many of the upper figurine portions will be lost and there is a great opportunity for the tops to be reattached to the wrong stems. The Click ‘n Play Winnie the Pooh dispensers are also shipping to us now from Europe and will be available in the Pez Collectors Store very soon. We have been warned that the Roo dispenser in the set may be delayed, but we will have this too, just as soon as it is available!
UPDATE: the first 5 Winnie the Pooh Click 'n Play are now in stock! These are really cute!
Last month we also told you about Ben 10 and these are shipping to us from Europe now. We will have them available in the Pez Collectors Store just as soon as they arrive.
It has been a while since there were any new Pez Licensed items, but we ran across information that Pez Boy and Pez Girl Luggage tags will be available sometime after mid March. What a way to make your bags stand out among all the others!
For those who also collect Klik dispensers, we have added many different Au’Some Klik dispensers to our Other Candy Dispensers section, so check it out for any you may have missed!
The contracts are signed for the Holiday Inn Kansas City NorthEast where we will host the 2010 Kansas City PezHead Gathering on May 28 and 29, 2010. The gathering is sure to be a World of Fun for everyone! This year, the entire event will be held at the Holiday Inn hotel, allowing us to plan some room hopping and a Pez Swap Party for Friday evening. The hotel has agreed to include up to 2 free full breakfast buffets per room per night and they have a great family fun atmosphere at this Holiday Inn! The banquet rooms have been reserved just for our Pez Show and we have a full day of Pezzy fun planned! Of course, we also have a Kansas City BBQ buffet scheduled and a Charity Auction to benefit the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America. Pezzy games and PEZGO for great prizes are scheduled for the afternoon on Saturday. We have arranged to offer greatly discounted tickets to the Worlds of Fun Amusement part located just across the highway from the hotel for anyone who wishes to visit the park on Sunday. There are also several Casinos very near the hotel and guests of the Holiday Inn are offered free shuttle service to these locations within a 5 mile radius of the hotel. It’s sure to be a World of Fun at the Kansas City PezHead Gathering and we can’t wait to see you Memorial Day weekend! We are developing a website for the Kansas City PezHead Gathering and just as soon as it is up, easy online registration will be available. We will send a short announcement by email when it is available in just a few weeks.
Happy Pezzing!
Chris Jordan
www.pezcollectors.com