Latest News About SUMMER Muncie FRUIT JAR ROUND-UP Bottle Show

2011 SUMMER FRUIT JAR ROUND-UP

There are only 2 events each year devoted just to FRUIT JARS: January's Get-Together put on by the MAFJBC, and the SUMMER FRUIT JAR ROUND-UP, put on by the fruit jar collectors themselves, coordinated by Jerry McCann and Marianne Dow.

Last summer we had a super turn out, and a lot of fun! We are expecting the same good turn-out this summer, and are expanding our activity schedules, so mark your calendars, make your travel plans, and prepare to have a Jar-tastic time!
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TOP 10 REASONS TO GO TO
Muncie Summer Fruit Jar Round Up 2011

10 Greg's Bargain Cave.

9 The hospitality room with sandwiches, snacks and drinks.

8 The talks and groups and meetings

7 The floating cocktail parties every night

6 The stories, jokes, laughs and memories

5 The hotel's free breakfast.

4 The awesome fun ROOM HOPPING - buying, selling, and visiting.

3 Uh -- the jars!

2 Did I mention the JARS?!

1 The number 1 reason -- the wonderful friends - old and new!


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New This Summer -- Themed Discussion Groups



At last summer's Muncie Fruit Jar Round-Up, Jeff Klingler, Jon Raver, and Jean Harbron had planned ahead to bring some non-Ball Indiana jars to show each other. It wasn't an official event, just a little something they did on their own. They brought their themed show'n'tell items up to the hospitality room, which was great. Those of us sitting in there got to see and hear their descriptions, stories, and research about these items that interested them so much.

It reminds me of watching PBS. You wouldn't necessarily have picked that subject, or thought it would be so interesting, until someone with passion for the subject made it interesting. It made me think how great it would be to plan a few of these casual themed groups for this summer. Not everyone wants to commit to giving a talk, but several people getting together sharing info on pre-selected topics will make for a lot of pleasant learning. And we all get to see some rare jars from collections. I can't wait to see what everyone comes up with for this July's sessions.

We are scheduling the talks and groups for Thursday and Friday. Saturday will be the traditional schedule of meetings (Jelly Jammers and the MAFJBC) followed by the ''fee-free, fun-for-all auction''.

So far we have 2 themes with moderators:

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1) JEAN HARBRON - Themed Group Discussion - Friday afternoon

NON-BALL Indiana Jars

"There were many obscure Indiana glass houses so there are many jars we could present." - Jean Harbron JHarbron@comcast.net

2) JEFF HARPER - Themed Group Discussion - Thursday afternoon

Fruit jars with a full patent date (not just year) on the front OTHER than Nov 30th 1858 and July 14th 1908.

"It might be error variations of those dates, or it might be any of a number of other jars. The kicker will be explaining what was actually patented on that date, if known. I'd like to keep it challenging and require that the date be on the front rather than reverse, base, or lid - but that might be too restrictive." - Jeff Harper jeffreyfharper@gmail.com

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Here are a few more theme suggestions:

Paper Labeled jars (hey, Tom Caniff, would you moderate this group?)

Ephemera and Go-withs ( a perfect subject for Joe Coulson - hint, hint...)

Swirly Jars (sounds like Bruce Schank's favorite subject - more subtle hinting...)

Anyone have any subjects to suggest? Any moderator-volunteers? The groups are going to be casual show'n'tell sessions. Just friends sharing.

If you don't want to travel with your rare treasures, print out some big pix. And even if you don't have any items that match the theme, anyone and everyone is welcome to come listen, and learn.

It's always a treat to see how people light up when they tell why their jar is special to them. And who knows, you might find some quirky aspect that will intrigue you too, and give you something new to look for when you are out treasure hunting.

I will make a schedule when we get closer to the event. I will post it at the hotel, and email it out to everyone earlier.

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MORE NEWS: HOT OFF THE PRESSES!

JERRY McCANN will be giving a talk (or two) about historical jars. His talks are always crowd pleasers. Not to mention illustrated with some museum-quality early jars.

Jerry will also be unveiling his long-awaited, new-and-improved reference book, The Standard Fruit Jar Reference, at this year's Muncie Summer Fruit Jar Round Up.

Don't miss this fun 4-day collectors event with room-hop-shopping and activities at the Signature Inn, 3400 N Chadam Ln Muncie IN 47304-5272 (phone for room reservations: 765-284-4200).

For more info, contact Marianne Dow at finbotclub@gmail.com or 419-455-1112.

Aside from hotel room costs, events at the hotel are free and open to all fruit jar enthusiasts.

Rooms at the Signature Inn may be rare by now. You can stay elsewhere, and hang out with us all day and night, for free. We'll even give you a table upstairs to sell from if you want. So no excuses -- be there!