Fast Facts
| Where: | Waco Hilton, Waco Convention Center, and Dr Pepper Museum |
| When: | March 10-12, 2016 |
| Event: | 32nd Dr Pepper 10-2-4 Collectors Club Convention |
| Event Details: | The Dr Pepper 10-2-4 Collectors Club meets annually in Waco, Texas, the Home of Dr Pepper. The convention is a three-day event for registered attendees. |
| Specials/Discounts: | Reduced fee for early registration. |
| Social Media: | https://www.facebook.com/events/504302313090123/ Collector Spotlight: Stan Sanders |
2016 marks the 32nd time the Dr Pepper 10-2-4 Collectors Club has gathered in Waco, Texas to host a national convention for Dr Pepper collectors. The theme for this year is “Dr Pepper and the Military,” inspired by Dr Pepper’s patriotic advertisements throughout the years.
About the Club
The 10-2-4 Club was established in 1982 when a group of devoted Dr Pepper collectors had the idea for an interest group. Original members included Wilton Lanning, Sue Sterling, Irene Wright, and Bill Agee. The next year they hosted their first informal meeting at the Dr Pepper Company headquarters on Mockingbird in Dallas, Texas with Harry Ellis, Dr Pepper Company Historian, and W. W. “Foots” Clements, Dr Pepper Company President, as hosts. As Lanning described it, their first “big event” as a club was Dr Pepper’s 100th birthday celebration in Waco in 1985.
Club members enjoy access to a network of fellow collectors with different expertise, and often trade and sell with each other. Since Club members live across the United States, they keep an eye out for items that fellow collectors are searching for. Membership also includes a subscription to the Club’s quarterly newsletter The Lion’s Roar.
About the 2016 Convention
Early registration is open until noon on Thursday, March 10th for those who were not able to turn in their registration by mail. The first big event of the conference is a barbeque dinner hosted by the Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute. This is always an unofficial Club member reunion, since it is the first time most members will get to see each other at the convention, and often since the previous year. Club officers and Museum staff give updates, a professional group photo is taken, and a cake cutting has become a favorite tradition. A hospitality room at the Waco Hilton is open for conference attendees, along with room hopping to see new pieces from fellow members’ collections. Sales and trades are known to happen during room hopping, as well.
On Friday, members meet at the Waco Convention Center for additional registration opportunities and two seminar sessions. Seminars usually cover Dr Pepper advertisements, or specific Dr Pepper objects or collections such as bottles or pins. This year the Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute will give a presentation about Dr Pepper and the Military, featuring objects from the collection and information from the archives. The second session topic has not been determined yet.
After the seminars, members will meet for a Club business meeting and a Show and Tell presentation where members can show off their newest acquisitions over the past year. Friday evening concludes with a dinner and auction. The auction is one of the most well attended events of the conference because of the unique objects that range in age and value. There are usually a few pieces that bring in over $1000 as collectors have the opportunity to acquire pieces they may not find anywhere else in the country. There is an auction preview of the roughly 100 item lots earlier in the day when collectors can budget for the evening.
Saturday’s main event is a swap meet that is open to the public. It will take place in the Brazos room of the Waco Hilton from 10 AM to 3 PM on Saturday, March 12th. If you want to see if Dr Pepper or soft drink collecting is for you, this is the perfect place to start! There are two silent auction sessions, and collectors are available to appraise soft drink items the public brings in (Just a reminder: the Dr Pepper Museum is not able to appraise items because it is a non-profit organization.). The convention ends with a formal banquet Saturday evening.
For more details about the convention schedule, visit the Facebook event page.
About the Dr Pepper Museum
The Dr Pepper Museum and Free Enterprise Institute is located at 300 South 5th Street in downtown Waco. Currently the Museum is open Monday through Saturday from 10 am until 4:15 when the last ticket to the gallery is sold. The Museum opens at 12 pm on Sundays. Visitors can stop by the soda fountain and gift shop until 5 pm; no admission ticket required. For more information about the Museum, visit us at drpeppermuseum.com.
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