Canadian Collectors of Beer Stuff 2.21

The Trillium Chapter of the Beer Can Collectors of America was formed in 1983 to give Toronto-area collectors an opportunity to meet on a regular basis to trade cans.

From that original meeting of 12 collectors, Trillium Chapter membership now numbers near 100. We are the largest of six Canadian BCCA chapters and are the local BCCA chapter for the Toronto/Southern Ontario region. However, our membership extends to Canadian can collectors anywhere.

The Trillium Chapter is Canada's foremost BCCA chapter, having hosted the BCCA's national Canvention in Toronto in 1992. This was the first time the BCCA Canvention was held outside the United States. Over 800 collectors, their families and guests attended. Prior to that, the Trillium Chapter hosted the very well-received 'Canada Night' hospitality night as part of the 1987 BCCA Canvention in Niagara Falls, NY.

Chapter meetings are usually held monthly at members homes, normally on the second or third Sunday of the month, and all members are encouraged to attend. The meetings give everyone an opportunity to see collections and displays of other collectors and trade cans on a regular basis. Dates and maps, as well as updates on Chapter activities and new Canadian beer cans, are provided in the Chapter newsletter, Trillium Tales.

In addition to our regular meetings, we host one large trade session each year. The Horst Wendland Memorial Trade, named in honour of a founding member of the Chapter, is held in or around Toronto in October, and attracts beer can and breweriana collectors from across Ontario and many neighbouring American states.

The Trillium Chapter held its first trade session in 1984, and it has been an annual event since, with beer can collectors coming from as far away as British Columbia and St. Louis, Missouri to attend. In the past, the Chapter has been profiled in a number of radio and TV features; while individual members and their collections have been the subject of many newspaper articles.

If you're a beer can collector, there's no better place to meet fellow collectors and add to your collection that at a BCCA Canvention®. Last year's Canvention® was in Dearborn, MI at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. This year, we'll be at the Westin in Charlotte, NC from August 31-September 3. For more information on Canvention and the BCCA, please visit the BCCA web site.

Membership in the BCCA® is not a prerequisite for membership in the Trillium Chapter. You can belong to either or both. However, if you have more than a passing interest in can collecting, we strongly recommend you also join the BCCA.