It has been a busy month at the Pez Collectors Store. The first Pez Gathering of the year, the 2026 KC Pez Gathering, was a fabulous event. It was truly wonderful to get to see so many friends and spend quality time catching up, chatting about what’s new in our lives, all while digging through bins and bins of pez! It was also nice that it was so close to us and required basically very little travel! Hosts Tony and Nicole and Dru did a really great job! Meanwhile, enjoy this fabulous custom mirror done by Abby Broussard for the gathering. The photo just doesn't do it justice - it's so reflective! There are more conventions coming but you need to get registrations in fast as they are filling up. More about that at the end of this newsletter!
Just in from Bosnia! A new European Heart for Children Srce za Djecu Charity Pez is now in stock in the Pez Collectors Store. Srce za Djecu is a charitable organization in Bosnia. The words are in Croatian, meaning Heart for Children and this is printed on the white stem of the footed heart shaped pez dispenser. On the heart itself is a white ribbon, bowed to form the shape of a heart in the center. This is the logo of the organization and they provide support for seriously ill children and their families. The dispensers were produced as a fundraiser for Srce za Djecu and a portion of the sale for each dispenser is donated directly to the organization The dispensers were released only to stores in Bosnia. Available now in the Pez Collectors Store, ready to ship from the USA!
The Original Collector's Price Guide to PEZ is now in its 37th edition! This handy paperback book lists all known head variations for different dispensers from vintage to current, providing a price range and handy check boxes for tracking your collection! Additionally, new QR codes have been added for many of the dispensers, so you can scan the QR code to watch a short YouTube video by Brian Trauman showing the differences between a Plastic and Rubber Headdresses on Indian Chiefs or Skin tones differences of Indian Braves, for example. You can now have a visual image to go along with the descriptions in the book to aid in distinguishing the different variations and versions! The 37th edition has all the newest dispensers and sections for mini pez, Funko POP!+PEZ, and for non-pez candy collectibles such as Totems, TV Pals, Yummy and Zepher dispensers! This edition contains over 380 pages with index and notes and due to the weight may ship at media rate when ordered without other items. Written by John J. LaSpina, with videos by Brian Trauman, this book is a must have for any serious collector! These are in stock in the Pez Collectors Store in the paperback format and is less expensive than the spiral binding used in the past.
Hello Kitty Strawberry is a standard Hello Kitty Pez, but her stem and bow are a reddish pink and the stem is printed with strawberries and her name. She and Cinnamoroll are the newest additions to the Hello Kitty and Friends Pez assortment. Cinnamoroll is the white, chubby, long eared puppy with a tail like a cinnamon roll. He serves as the official mascot of Café Cinnamon in Hello Kitty’s world! In the Pez world, he is just plain old cute. In the gift tin, he had clouds on his stem and now comes with a plain stem. These two new pez are available now in the Pez Collectors Store!
The exclusive limited-edition Alien pez released this month is a really cute play on words! Instead of being the classic Green Head Alien, the head is silver with big black eyes and the stem is black, with “I NEED SPACE” printed in silver. The I NEED SPACE Alien is on an alien space ship themed card that is really cute. These sold out very quickly. These little aliens are proving quite difficult to catch! We have just a few in stock in the Pez Collectors Store!
We normally don’t get advanced notice of limited-edition exclusive products, but the JF Krichbaum Pez Arts Kid Guard has an entire event scheduled to celebrate its debut on May 27 at 6 pm at the café in Dschungel Wien, under the motto “Coole Erwachsene machen kindische Sachen” (Cool adults make childish things). The venue is a theatre for youth in the MuseumsQuartier in Wien, Austria. Only 5000 of these Kid Guard Pez were made and packaged in the artistic box at PEZ factory. The artist, JF Krichbaum has an entire line of “PEZ Arts” and he will be at the event and several of his pictures will be exhibited. For those of us who can’t attend, the remaining PEZ dispensers should be available online sometime after the event on May 27, both in the USA and in Europe.
May is the first scheduled release for the all-new Toy Store 5 Pez assortment. Buzz, Woody and Jessie are all new molds and we expect to have them in stock in the Pez Collectors Store the first week of May!
Minecraft Skeleton is beginning to show up on cards in various places, but TNT is scheduled to be released in May and we are waiting to get them both in the Minecraft assortment! We will have them in stock just as soon as possible!
The 2026 European PEZ Emojis include Cool with sunglasses and a stem that says Cool, Cloud which is an ombre Rainbow, but with different facial features than the previous Rainbow emoji, and clouds printed on the stem, and a red crystal Valentine Heart with heart shaped eyes that is called Heart. These are listed for earliest release in April 2026, but so far, they have not been released yet. We have our order placed and will have these in stock in the Pez Collectors Store as soon as possible.
A revised Donkey Kong pez is scheduled to be released in Europe at the earliest, in June. Below is a comparison of the old Donkey Kong on the left and the new Donkey Kong on the right. We will have the new Donkey Kong B version just as soon as it is released!
Two new Minion pez will be added for the Minions and Monsters Pez assortment beginning June 1 in the USA. Henry is a two eyed minion with blue eyes and lots of long wavy hairs on top and a wide smiling mouth showing his teeth. James is a one eyed minion with a blue eye and a crooked smirk. He has 3 loops of hair. These two new characters will be added into the minions assortments and the packaging will be refreshed to Minions and Monsters. We will have Henry and James in stock as soon as possible.
Rex will be added to the Paw Patrol assortment in the USA beginning June 1. This other-abled Bernese Mountain pup is an expert on dinosaurs! No such thing as dis-ability for this pup! We will have Rex in stock as soon as he is available in the USA!
Long ago, the Pez Collectors Store made and sold Wood 4 and 6 shelf Wall Displays. These displays are back in stock as we found 6 of each size in our inventory. Each shelf has a strip that clips the feet of the pez in place to prevent the dreaded domino effect of one pez tipping over. Wall displays are a convenient method of displaying your pez since they can be hung anywhere you might otherwise hang a picture or painting. Who needs art when you have PEZ? Of course, we also have 5 tier Grandstand displays if you prefer! Check out all the pez display options in the Pez Shoes and Displays category of the Pez Collectors Store!
The Sweets and Snacks Expo in Las Vegas will provide an opportunity for PEZ Co., along with all the other candy and snack companies, to showcase their new products. We expect to have updates and pictures to share in the next Pez Collectors Store newsletter, but we are really looking forward to seeing the K-Pop Demon Hunters Gift set scheduled for release October 1! The girls, Rumi, Mira and Zoey will be included along with Derpy. More news next month!
The Pez Convention hosts are all getting excited about their 2026 conventions. Deadlines are coming rapidly for several so if you have not registered or booked hotel rooms, you may need to get that done immediately!
- May 16, 2026 Maryland Pez Gathering – Woodlawn, MD. Registration closes 5/10/26, so don’t delay! Host Katie Chrzanowski has information is available on the website at https://www.marylandpezgathering.com or on the Maryland Pez Gathering page on Facebook. You needed to register by 4/20 to guarantee T-shirt size but register immediately and Katie will work with you the best she possibly can! You are guaranteed to have a great time. I am guaranteed to be green with envy because I can’t make it, but I will be thinking of you all. Katie is a wonderful hostess and truly makes it a memorable day for all attendees!
- July 15 – 18, 2026 Pezamania – Independence, OH. Hosts Morgan Rhinehart and Landon Proctor have opened registration for Pezamania 35: Building a Legacy Brick by Brick. All the details and information can be found at www.pezamania.com and on their updated Facebook page PEZAMANIA "The World's Largest Gathering of PEZ Collectors". I know something fabulous is being built for the 35th convention! Bob the Builder beware, it is evident from their logo that something new is being constructed – a ballroom you say?
- September 10 – 12, 2026 Pez on the River – Winona, MN Hosts Sandy and Cheryl Gardner-Ghionzoli have opened registration. Check out their website at www.pezontheriver.com for details and the registration information and form. There are other events happening at the hotel, so it is vital that you get your room reserved! You need to be thinking hard about your entry for the costume contest. The convention theme this year is “Spirit of 2026” and your entry needs to contain a pez dispenser in costume to reflect your interpretation of that theme.
- We anticipate that there will be an IN Crowd Gathering in October, almost definitely the first Saturday in October, and the host information is not yet firm Pez Flower Flavored Psychedelic looks like a great theme! Follow The IN. Crowd PEZ Gathering Group on Facebook for details!
- The Pezylvania XVI Gathering will take place in Kutztown, PA in October 10, 2026. Registration packet information and pricing is available online at www.pezylvania.com and Registration will open soon. Hosts Laura Adams, Peggy Brooks and Doug Reimold are all hard at work organizing and planning for another wonderful year at this gathering in honor of Ralph Riovo, aka The Purple Cow.
That’s all the news for this month! Happy Pezzing!
All the best,
Chris Jordan
www.pezcollectors.com