Serious Coca-Cola fans are gathering in Atlanta this weekend to swap their wares, swig cola and throw bids at a dizzying array of paraphernalia from across the decades.
Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co. likes to talk about how much people love its brand. Here, it has a concrete example. Collectors have traveled from across the country and from Japan, Australia, Canada and Belgium for the auctions, parties, room-hopping and swaps of "Springtime in Atlanta," the Atlanta meeting of Coke aficionados that dates back to 1976.
The public part of this week's convention is a three-hour "swap meet" Saturday at the Crowne Plaza Ravinia north of Atlanta.
"The great thing about these meetings is that I'm sure I'll see something that I haven't seen before," said Phil Mooney, Coca-Cola's director of heritage communications. "That speaks to the magnitude of the advertising materials the company has produced. So many variations of things... I'm just astounded."
There are paper cups with diamond Coke design from the 1960s, and signs from the 1930s or '40s advertising Coca-Cola for a nickle. There are clocks, kick-plates for doors, Santa figurines, commemorative bottles, and even Coca-Cola chewing gum jars and cigar wrappers. There are holders for fake plants, emblazoned with the ubiquitous Spencerian logo of the world's biggest beverage company.
"They made some weird stuff," John Buchholz noted during a Wednesday night tour of the hotel rooms, where attendees had spread their wares on beds and bureaus for the "room-hopping" portion of the convention.
"We all started in the '70s," said Buchholz, a 71-year-old retired IBM meeting planner who led the organizing effort. "This joint would be jumping like you wouldn't believe, 35 years ago. We still have fun -- we just have shorter days."
Sue Beach, who manned the soda table at Wednesday night's kickoff party, remembered when she got her first Coca-Cola artifact. It was 1989, and she was in an antiques shop with her husband, Earl. They spotted a Coca-Cola sign.
"You drink a lot of Coke," she remembered Earl telling her. "We should collect Coke stuff."
They bought the sign. Two decades and 15 conventions later, they are still collecting: everything from paintings to matchboxes to gas-station signs emblazoned with the Coca-Cola logo.
Buchholz and his wife, Karleen, got involved with the local collectors club -- and later the national one -- 34 years ago. That was after their son John, then 12 years old, wanted something to hang on his wall, and settled on Coca-Cola signs. He started looking for Coca-Cola memorabilia -- especially drinking glasses -- when the family took weekend trips to garage sales and flea markets. His money from yard work went toward amassing a collection of nearly 1,000 Coca-Cola glasses.
"Once our son started collecting, we could see how it brought back great memories for us," said the elder John. "We’re not professionals. This isn’t a business."
"We work hard at it, to make it fun for people."
Coca-Cola "swap meet"
Crowne Plaza Ravinia, 4355 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Atlanta, GA 30346. Saturday, April 3, 10 a.m-1 p.m. Free. Crowne Plaza front desk, 1-770-395-7700.
