A North Bay man who loves collecting beer memorabilia is hoping to share his passion with more than 40 other beer advertising enthusiasts.
Tony Matheson, a retired major from 22 Wing at CFB North Bay, has one of the largest beer bottle collections in Canada in his home.
“I started this in August of 1978 and I had just turned 18 and that was the drinking age here in Ontario back then and I decided I was going to collect full bottles and I have been doing it ever since,” said Matheson.
“It started with two stubby bottles, a Labatt’s Blue and an Old Vienna on my dresser, and it kind of grew from there.”
Matheson says Collectors of Canadian Brewery Advertising conventions have taken place annually since 1978 and have only been stopped for a couple of years due to the pandemic.
"We got 50 people confirmed for the convention coming coming from across Canada," said Matheson about the event that will take place in North Bay from Sept. 4-8.
"We have one coming in from Denmark; he may have the world's largest coaster collection," he added. "He's got 50 or 60,000 of these beer coasters. And we got a couple coming in the United States, but mostly Canadian and a lot from Ontario."
Matheson has organized some sight-seeing events in and around North Bay including a cruise on a Chief Commanda II, a visit up to CFB North Bay, and a couple of nearby brewery tours.
Matheson has also got some help organizing the event from Tourism North Bay.
On Saturday, Sept. 7, Matheson says a buy, sell event will take place at Gateway City Brewery Company. That event is available to the public.
Matheson, who has been to many events like this across Canada, believes its important to bring like-minded collectors into one venue once a year.
"Hobbies and clubs seem to be dying out because of the internet," noted Matheson. "People are just not willing to spend the time or make the effort."
For more information on the event, click here or contact Matheson at [email protected].
