BERKELEY – Disney music played over the speakers in the Bayville Elks hall as people came from miles around to share their love of collectible pins that are found only at Disney parks.
Some pins are incredibly rare, such as artist proofs just are just a few dozen in existence. They can go for hundreds and even thousands of dollars. Like baseball cards or comic books, they didn’t start out as collectible. They just became sought-after as the popularity increased, meaning the older pins are much more rare since kids lose them or parents throw them out.
Vendors had tables of pins – some for sale and some for trade. Visitors came stocked with binders full of pins, and some came with boxes on handcarts. A section of the hall was set aside for families to trade pins or color in some coloring books.
Scott Peterka of Long Beach Island was one of the exhibitors with his daughter, Olivia. Their Main Street Pin Co. had a number of pins for sale or trade. Scott said they first went to Disney when she was a newborn, and they try to go once a year. He described the pins as a tangible memory of that trip. Whether you got the pin at a ride you loved, or from a character you met, or even the hotel where you stayed, every pin carries a story with it.
“It’s a lot of fun, a good crowd, and a great layout,” he said of the show. “I hope they do it again.”
Lauren and Chris Graham of Waretown made ways to display your pins. They had silhouettes of recognizable Disney characters carved out of wood, felt and foam.
The youth group of the Elks, the Antlers were also on the scene, serving food and helping visitors.
Elk Jan Bernardino said the event was a fundraiser to send local kids to the Elks Peer Leadership Conference, where they learn leadership, anti-bullying strategies, and other ways to make the right choices such as a lifestyle free from drugs.
“Kids have so much raw emotion inside them and have no idea how to deal with them,” she said.
The idea for the event came from Elks member Kim Morris. When she was young, she received her first pin on a trip to Disney. By the time she brought her kids, Disney started offering lanyards to wear them, then they had pin trading at the park. These became opportunities not only to collect keepsakes, but to tell stories of how you got them.
“You’re sharing that joy with others,” she explained.
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