The new pez releases just keep coming and it is so much fun to get the newest characters! We have gotten a few new pez in this month and are expecting still more next month, plus we have some new information to share about a few other future sets. Convention season has been kicked off with the terrific PEZcific Coast Convention and there are lots more opportunities to attend a convention coming up.
Fluttershy has joined the My Little Pony Assortment in Europe. These are now in stock in the Pez Collectors Store and Fluttershy is a great addition to the set. It will be released in the USA as a part of the assortment beginning in April, but since it will be added to the existing assortment, it could be a while before Fluttershy is found in the ‘wild’. We have the European Fluttershy in stock now!
Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman were released for the Batman v. Superman Dawn of Justice movie and these same characters have also now been released in a tri-pack boxed Gift Set. The graphics on the box are very nice and make for great packaging! These boxed sets and the singles in polybag are available now.
Europe also got a new Batman and Superman and these pez are different. The European Batman and Superman are the same molds as the previous release of Batman and Superman, but they have completely different paint. The new European Batman is strikingly different looking in black and gray, and because it is a different mold than the black and gray batman from the USA, the three look great side by side. Likewise, the European Superman is the same mold that was previously used, but the hair is filled in behind the curl, he has a blue collar around the neck under the cape and the S in the Superman logo is different. The newest USA version is much different with a whole new mold, so these also look great side by side. We were able to get a few sets of the new European Batman and Superman and these are in stock now in the Pez Collectors Store!
The Easter Eggs have three new mini pez including a blue ducky, a tan floppy ear bunny and a purple Mr. Bunny. The Easter Tubes have a new white floppy ear bunny, a new Easter Egg with a rabbit and a new chocolate bunny E. The chocolate bunny looks like the original chocolate bunny (which came out before the bucktooth chocolate bunny), except that the new one has a pink tongue and black eyebrows instead of a white tongue and eyebrows. We have the mini pez in Easter Eggs and The Easter Tubes with new pez available now in the Pez Collectors Store.
Next month, the WWE boxed set will be released in the USA with John Cena, The Rock and The Undertaker in a gift box picturing the WWE Champion Title award belt. These three new pez characters will be available only in this boxed gift set. Our order is placed and we hope to receive them very soon!
Kylo Ren and First Order Stormtrooper are to be added to the USA Star Wars assortments beginning in March, but it is likely to be a while before they actually begin showing up in assortments. Pez Candy always clears out old stock before they ship the new products, so we will get the new pez just as soon as possible.
The new interactive Angry Birds pez are being released in Europe in April. PEZ Company is very excited about this set as it is the introduction to PEZ PLAY, a mobile gaming platform which PEZ believes will drive sales of PEZ through the digital connection. According to Pez International product manager Karin Leonhartsberger, they hope to include free gaming app downloads with every dispenser in the future, but that is in the works and is being discussed with other licensors for future pez. The free digital game will be fun, but I am pretty stoked about the dispensers themselves!
In April, an exciting new Marvel Interactive twin pack will be released in the USA. This set includes Ironman with light up eyes and Captain America with a detachable spinning shield. These are being released ahead of the new Marvel Captain America Civil War movie coming to theaters May 6, 2016. These new interactive pez are awesome looking and are sure to be a huge hit with kids and adults, pez collectors and superhero fans!
ISM is a confectionery expo in Cologne, Germany, similar to the Sweets and Snacks expo in the USA. PEZ International has a booth at ISM to display their 2016 lineup where the Secret Life of Pets pez were on display, scheduled for release in June in Europe. This photo was taken by PEZ Taiwan and shared by FasterPez in his blog at http://fasterpez.com/the-secret-life-of-pets-pez/. The set includes Max the Terrier, Chloe the Cat, Duke the mongrel dog, and Snowball the Rabbit. According to the latest USA Sales brochure, all 4 character dispensers are expected to also be released in the USA at the end of May, about the same time as the European release! Adding Chloe to the USA assortment is great!
The 2016 Pez Convention season kicked off with the 15th PEZcific Coast Pez Convention in Los Angeles, CA and it was fabulous! Maheba Merhi and her family do so much to make the convention run without a hitch and it is pure perfection. Pez Candy, Inc. produced a special dispenser for the 15th PEZcific Coast Convention. There were only 300 of these dispensers produced, making them quite limited. The European conventions are all getting crystal Lovey emoticon pez with different colored stems and printed with information about the specific convention or gathering. The 15th Pezcific Coast convention dispenser is a crystal Happy USA Emoji. We are told that there is something different about the PEZcific Coast Convention dispenser because it is their anniversary year, and it isn’t just the printing on the stem! We will have to wait until the North East convention to see what the difference might be! Meanwhile, we have just a few of these in stock now in the Pez Collectors Store!
Each year at the PEZcific Coast convention, the PezHead of the Year (PHOTY) is named. It is always so much fun to watch the new PHOTY being named and receiving the award if they are present at the convention. According to the description from pezlist.com, PHOTY is defined as follows:
PEZHead Of The Year is a very special award that is presented each year. PHOTY recognizes the leaders in our hobby… people who have been pioneers… and those whose selfless contributions to our hobby have made PEZ collecting what it is today.
Originally started in 1998, the PHOTY award was presented at the LA PEZ-athon, largely because it was the first major PEZ convention held each year. Since then, the LA PEZ-athon has changed its name and is now the PEZcific Coast Convention. Likewise, this award has been adopted by this convention and the name has been changed to “Los Angeles PEZcific presents PEZhead Of The Year”. PHOTY winners receive a coveted “Golden Gonzo” trophy as well as the handsome and stylish traveling plaque.
PHOTY award recipients embody everything that is good about our hobby. PHOTYs are those who have made major contributions to the hobby in knowledge, time and effort, helping collectors, and awareness. They have worked hard to advance PEZ collecting to the level it currently enjoys.
PHOTY is not a continuation of the PHOTM monthly list award. PHOTY award recipients are nominated and voted on by the group of previous winners.
Imagine my utter and total shock when the 2016 winner was announced and they called my name. It is truly an honor and I will treasure my Golden Gonzo!
More conventions and gatherings are coming up all across the USA so be sure to pick a few and make plans to attend. The deadlines for several of these conventions are coming very soon, so be sure to get your hotel reservations made and the registration forms sent in soon! We hope to see you at one of these – we are trying to attend as many as possible!
- March 31 – April 2, ATX Pez Gathering, Austin, Texas www.atxpez.com
- April 28 – 30, 18th Annual Northeast Pez Convention, Stamford, CT www.pezconvention.org
- July 28 – 30, Pezamania 26, Cleveland, Ohio www.pezamania.com
- August 12 - 13, Dairyville Pez Gathering, Dairyville, CA
- September 8 – 10, Sin City Pez Convention, Las Vegas, NV, http://sincitypez.weebly.com/
- September 23 – 24, Steel City Pez Gathering, Pittsburgh, PA
- October 14 – 15, Pez On The River, La Crosse, WI www.pezontheriver.com
- October 22, 2016, Pezylvania VII, Kutztown, PA www.pezylvania.com/
Michigan Pez Gathering is being planned, probably in August, 2016 and the Windy City Pez Gathering, Chicago, IL is in the works for June, 2017.
That is all the news we can share with you for this month! Happy Pezzing!
All the best,
Chris Jordan
www.pezcollectors.com