Introduction
This year's theme, Shaker Olympics, was chosen to honor the 2024 Summer Olympics that was soon to take place in Paris, France. Although the Olympics really has nothing to do with Canton, Ohio - the theme provided a wonderful opportunity to change things with the introduction of our first parade of nations and torch relay as you'll see below when the Shaker Olympics officially began Friday morning July 12th.
But before all that, members came from all around (5 countries including Canada, Belgium, Germany, and England) to partake in this year's 39th Annual Convention of the Novelty Salt and Pepper Shakers Club. When they arrived to the Embassy Suites Hilton Akron/Canton Airport hotel they were created in the lobby with our banner and some information that would help get them started.
Sightseeing
Even though Canton, Ohio might not have direct links to the Olympic Games, the city still had much to offer our attendees who were able to come in early and do some sightseeing. Many members made it the short ten minute drive south from the hotel to visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Convention Set Up
Individual Member's Rooms
Another reason attendees start coming to convention a week in advance is to buy and sell shakers out of their hotel rooms. Here are some photos of early shopping and room setting up.
Amazing shaker deals were found by all. And not to worry, with 60 some sellers, there were plenty of shakers available for members that couldn't come till the end of the week.
Best Room Contest
This year we had the first ever Best Room Contest. This was a "no rules" competition that allowed members to get creative and vote for their favorite member's rooms. Many members decorated their rooms with Olympic themes, country themes, and football themes. Our newsletter editor, Ken Parisot, took a different approach - Ken & his wife Debbie hung information about the club's newsletter and educational pieces on the walls. With over 40 first time attendees, I'm sure this went over very well.
Registration Room
The registration room was all decked out in Olympic and country paraphernalia to greet and welcome new arrivals.
Raffle Basket Room
Bonny Schwitzgable, our raffle basket chair, was busy all week taking donations and setting up our raffle basket room for the upcoming convention. While, Carol Detweiler, our raffle ticket chair, made sure raffle tickets were always available for purchase both so our attendees could increased their odds of taking home some amazing gift baskets.
Weaver Collection Open House - Sat July 6th - Wed July 10th
Karen Weaver opened her home for 5 straight days for an open house to see her extensive collection of over 75,000 sets of salt and pepper shakers... many came and many came multiple days to enjoy the spectacular collection and enjoy the company of fellow shaker friends. Greg Weaver opened the Weaver's concession stand so attendees could enjoy a leisure lunch at their own pace.
Amish Charter Bus Tour - Wednesday July 10th
Fifty-two convention attendees took a trip to Amish country in Holmes county. They were accompanied by their amateur tour guide, Josh Weaver, who helped them pass the time during the morning commute with a team game all about Amish salt & pepper shakers and Amish culture.
Behalt - The Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center
Our first stop was Behalt at the Amish & Mennonite Heritage Center where we received a lesson about the history of Amish & Mennonite anabaptists through the 360 degree cyclorama called Behalt.
At the Heritage Center we split into two groups and learned about the Amish's schooling at a rebuilt mock one room school house and learned about their transportation in a classic Amish barn.
Heini's Cheese Chalet
Next was a quick stop at Heini's Cheese Chalet for some cheese sampling.
Der Dutchman & Exploring Walnut Creek
After an Amish buffet lunch at Der Dutchman, we explored the quaint town of Walnut Creek including local craft stores, an antique store, and a short tour of a local chocolate company.
David Warther's Carving Museum Tour
Since the weather was not cooperating, instead of heading to Walnut Creek Farm for an one wagon ride amongst animals...
...we pivoted and headed to David Warther's Carving Museum where we got a private tour from the master carver himself.
David Warther was quite the story teller including this epic about his acquisition of this Wooly Mammoth tusk.
Thursday July 11th
Convention official began on Thursday, July 11th. A lot of meetings and set up occur on this day. And of course, attendees are standing in line to submit their shakers into the auction. But, we still have lots of fun this day and almost everyone is in town to do shaker shopping from room to room and view this year's competition to be the "best room".
To top things off, Trish Claar chaired the first ever Singles Mingle event Thursday night to a roaring success. See below for more details.
Set Up & Auction Preparation
With the help of Pat Yedlin, Mary Ragan again chaired another amazingly successful Shaker Theme Contest with well over 50 entries.
Payton Boyle setting up here Junior Members Display Contest entry.
With the help of Stephen, Mary Gentile successfully chaired the Shaker Display Contests and navigated the unexpected arrangement with the additional challenge of more large displays than we've had recently in previous years.
Christy Hammer setting up her display.
Thankfully all Sally Sebert needs to chair the Costume Contest is a small table to sign up contestants.
Here is Gary Maddox, the official auction photographer, taking photos which are projected during the actual auction so all members know what is being bid on.
The auction crew was busy meticulously examining and recording all the auction shakers and box lots members were submitting for the auctions. And what an amazing auction it was. The auction crew was so awesome and flexible they ran the auction most days & nights from the back of the room.
Kids' Party @1-3pm
Former junior member, Emma Newmyer and her mother Amy Newmyer chaired the gathering of junior members and kids in the "luggage room" at the Embassy Suites that doubles as the Speakeasy in the evenings. All the kids were spoiled with amazing extra goodie bags.
First Timers' Reception @4-5pm
With over 40 first timers attending this year's convention, we had to move the first timers' reception to the main banquet hall / salons. So the first timers got a sneak peak at all the decorations and displays! Thanks to Debbie Barger, the first timers were well informed for their first (and sometimes overwhelming) shaker convention.
Singles Mingle @6pm during happy hour!
No, this is not a speed dating event for all our single shaker collectors out there. This was an event to connect single shakers to collectors in need to find pairs, crafting, or begin the elusive search of the matching single. Look at all the details below in these wonderful ads created and published in the newsletters ahead of the convention by Trish Claar.
This event was such a hit and great success that there was a line to get in the door. The room was often at maximum capacity, but Horst was able to slip in and get these nice photos.
Trish and her husband John spent many long days and late nights before convention organizing all the donated singles into their various appropriate categories.
Members of the Capital Collector's chapter and other volunteers were on hand to help the process go smoothly.
Friday, July 12th
Opening Ceremony [Friday Morning Session]
The 39th Annual Convention of the Novelty Salt & Pepper Shakers Club officially began Friday morning, July 12th with the opening ceremony for the Shaker Olympics.
Parade of Nations
Instead of the typical roll call of states, it was just appropriate to have a parade of nations for the Shaker Olympics. Each convention attendee signed up for a table to sit at. Each table represented a different country, which then represented the country that each attendee was participating for during the Shaker Olympics and the continued Shaker Decathlon.
To the right, Noreen Neary, who is pledging her veteran experience to team Panama here during the Parade of Nation, is honored as the only member of the club to have attended every single convention since its inception.
Torch Relay & Lighting of the Olympic Cauldron
No Olympics is complete without a torch relay to light the official Shaker Olympic cauldron. The lights were dimmed while the Olympic torch was passed from one member who's won the Lifetime Achievement Award to the next. Finally, Hannah Hammar, a junior member, was passed the torch and had the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron.
National Anthem
As the host country, the United States of America's national anthem was played (and crushed) by Landon Weaver on the acoustic guitar. The attendees joined in singing the national anthem with Landon making one of the most memorable moments of the Shaker Olympics.
Shaker Decathlon
During the convention, each table representing their country, participated in a series of ten games which was called the Shaker Decathlon. The first game actually took place the day before on Thursday in the registration room, where each attendee had a chance to compete individually for their countries. Attendees entered the registration room in small groups and the room was filled with 500 photos of shakers. They were then given a few minutes to pick the 10 best / most valuable sets. Winners were announced the following morning with South Africa led by Debbie Barger getting gold. This was the first photo on the Olympic podium. Many more were to come.
Over the course of the next two days, nine additional games followed. Teams competed in Q&A type games as teams about all sorts of shaker subjects including series, go withs, advertising, eBay prices, convention sets, companies, and American pottery. After each game, winners of the individual events were announced and representatives of the winning countries (tables) were awarded with gold, silver, & bronze medals as they took their place on the winner's podium.
Dinosaur Story Presentation
Changing gears, the junior members, kids, & "kids at heart" were asked to join Christy Hammar for story time on the floor right in front of the projector screen for a dinosaur story.
Commemorative Shaker Set Unveiling
The Friday morning session ended with the unveiling of this year's convention set. This year's convention shaker was created by Gary Seymour in the United Kingdom, who made this wonderful sculpture of a hand carrying the Olympic torch. The flame is the second shaker and sits as a stacker on top of the torch. You can find more details about the convention set here.
For the first time, a third special set was created as a bronze set. This set was given away in the normal raffle to a lucky attendee.
Friday July 12th Afternoon Session
Costume Contest
View Auction Shakers
After a fun costume contest, many attendees headed across the hall to view all the amazing shakers and box lots entered into the auction. These sets and tray lots would be auctioned off Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, and Saturday evening.
Friday Evening Banquet
Saturday, July 13th Morning Session
Lifetime Achievement Award Announcement
Congratulations to Ken Parisot for winning this year's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Ken has been a member of the national club since 1995. Ken has been involved at all levels of the club including...
- President of the National club July 2021 - July 2023
- Newsletter Editor – September 2013 - June 2021 & June 2023 -present
- Printed & mailed junior news – December 2020 – June 2024
- National Election chairperson – several years
- Assisted at the convention auction accounting table – several years
- Active member of Shakers Anonymous, hosted meetings (and provided fabulous lunches) at his home with his wonderful wife Debbie
All past Lifetime Achievement Award winners were then brought up front for a group photo.
Breakout Sessions
Instead of the typical didactic shaker lecture, which often put our non-collecting spouses to sleep, we decided to change things up and try mini breakout sessions. We had 11 members present various topics of their interest and passion. Each member set up their shakers / layout at individual tables spread out in the banquet hall and out in the pre function area. Attendees then took their times roaming between the individual breakout sessions enjoying a more small group non-formal type of educational experience.
Saturday, July 13th Afternoon Session
2025 Convention Announcement & Presentation
Saturday Evening Banquet - Closing Ceremony of the Shaker Olympics
Attendees waited patiently in line to enter the banquet hall for the Closing Ceremony of the Shaker Olympics which entailed good food, great friends, dancing, singing, awards, and a final short auction.
Dave the DJ was back with us again this year to help us all have fun on the dance floor and we continued to enjoy old and new friendships. A new twist this year was a karaoke option, which a few people took advantage of and made the evening even more memoriable.
Contest Winners & Awards
Next was the awards ceremony for all the winners of the various contests that took place over the last few days. Winners took their place on the podium to accept their certificates and prize money. See below the long list of winners for the various contest categories.
Large Displays
1st Place
Happy Holidays Shaker Park
by Kim Maddox
2nd Place
We're Almost Here
by Marcia Oswald
3rd Place
Haunted Meadows
by Marlene Pawlikoski
Medium Displays
1st Place
Rue de Salt & Pepper
by Cristy Hammar
2nd Place
The Hallmark of Shakers
by Trish Claar
3rd Place
Shaker Beach
by Veronique Verbist
Small Displays
1st Place
S&P Construction Company
by Michelle (Weezie) Wentzel
2nd Place
When the Kids are Away the Snowmen Will Play
by Marilyn Indahl
3rd Place
Old Zone
by Melissa Weaver
Little Box (Shoebox) Displays
1st Place
Home Sweet Shaker Home
by Veronique Verbist
2nd Place
Under the Boardwalk
by Ruthie Denney
3rd Place
4x4 Relay Medal Ceremony
by Liane Sousa
Runner Ups
Junior Displays
1st Place
Shaker's Diner
by Hannah Hammar
2nd Place (tie)
Enchanted Garden
by Payton Boyle
2nd Place (tie)
Critter Camp
by Colton Boyle
3rd Place
The Fruit Escape!
by Landon Weaver
Runner Up
Snow White by Muppets & Mickey
by Alexie Weaver
Costume Contests
Adult One-Person
1st Place
Jester Jack-in-the-Box
Donna Leiby
2nd Place
Popcorn in a Tub
Alicia Lloyd
3rd Place
Drunk by Sign Post
Judy Parks
Adult Two-Person
1st Place
Lock Ness Monster
Cheryl Lenhard & Phil Mays
2nd Place
Big Boy & Dolly
Greg & Amigo Pacheco
3rd Place
Sailor & Lady on Bench
Ruthie Denney & Alan Kafitz
Runner Up
Anthro Napco Fruit Ladies
Jenny Hauk & Alison Longley
Adult Multi-Person
1st Place
Old Time Circus Performers
Bob & Kate Gentile with Mary Gelinas
2nd Place
Turnabout Before & After
Rene & Veronique Verbist with Harald & Suzanna Knust
3rd Place
Three Little Pigs, England PEK
Gary & Rachel Maddox with Christy Hammar
Mixed Ages
Junior Multi-Person
1st Place
Hershey Candy Bar & Kiss
Weez Wenteyl & Hannah Hammar
2nd Place
Dr. Seuss - Thing 1 & Thing 2
Debbie & Emilio Lugo
1st Place
Winne the Pooh & Friends
Alexie & Landon Weaver with Payton & Colton Boyle
Theme Shaker Contest
Adult
1st Place - Hand & Torch
by Alan Kafitz
2nd Place - Strong Men
by Harald Knust
3rd Place - Flexing Muscles
by Ruthie Denney
Junior
1st Place
Weightlifter
by Landon Weaver
2nd Place
Eiffel Tower & Arc de Triomphe
by Hannah Hammar
3rd Place
Flexing Muscles
by Ruthie Denney
Best Room Contest
1st Place - Room 307
John & Trish Claar
2nd Place - Room 328
Karen & Joel Framnes
Passing of the S&P
Josh Weaver passes the S&Ps to next year's convention chairpersons, Jim and Marcia Oswald. Good luck to the Oswald's and all their helpers. Everyone is looking forward to a wonderful Halloween themed convention at Minnesota in 2025.