The Canadian Corkscrew Collectors Club ("CCCC") was founded in the Spring of 1981.  An enthusiastic group of corkscrew collectors who belonged to a Canadian Wine Club, answered the advertisement placed in their magazine, the Wine Tidings.   Dave Dakers who was living in Ottawa at the time called his fellow Opimian Society members together to form an organisation to foster and promote further interest in this "twisted" hobby.

From this innocent beginning of the CCCC club membership has grown from the initial group of 15 to more than 270 by 1999.   Membership is Growing each year and in addition to about 30 Canadians the Club now has adherents in most European Countries and elsewhere covering about 30 Countries altogether. Annual membership fees are $48.00 U.S. Membership is open to anyone, anywhere in the world, whether they have two or two thousand pieces in their collection.   Interest in corkscrews is the only criteria.  For membership application see sidebar.

The CCCC has operated very successfully all through the years without even a Constitution or rules of any kind.  Corkscrew lovers come and have a great time.   All the administration consists of the Newsletter editor and the membership Chairman who looks after collecting the dues that is spent on publishing the Quarterly Worme.

Newsletter

Initially, the CCCC was a fairly loosely knit group held together by a small, but informative Newsletter edited by Dave Dakers.   Following in his footsteps were Henry Bodnar, Bruce Parker and Joe Paradi, all from Ontario, Canada.  Then for the next 10 years or so, Jane Wlochowski did a terrific job on the "Quarterly Worme" the name the newsletter has now.  In 2000 a team of two super ladies two took over the Editorial duties from Jane, they are Flory Bosa and Sal Robinson.  The newsletter contents are compiled from material the members contribute and form perhaps the best source of material a corkscrew collector could wish for.

Annual Meetings

The first Annual General Meeting ("AGM") of the CCCC was held in September of 1985 in Waterloo, Canada.  The now defunct Seagram's Museum hosted the meeting with about 15 collectors from Canada and Michigan in the U.S. and some wives attending.  The majority of the attendees were not even CCCC members at that point in time.  Everyone had a terrific time talking about, trading, buying and selling corkscrews.

The first AGM was so successful that the next one was held in 1986 in Mississauga hosted by Bruce Parker at his microbrewery with attendance close to double the previous year.  The CCCC was off and running with the next 3 AGMs (1987, 1988 and 1989) being held in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada hosted by Ron MacLean and Joe Paradi.   Then, in 1990 it was in the U.S. in Hartford (Wlochowskis and Derrico hosts); then for the Club's 10-th Anniversary back to its birthplace, Ottawa - 1991 (Dakers hosting), Ontario, Canada.   The next meetings were held in Hartford - 1992 hosted by the Wlochowskis; then to Boctouche, New Brunswick, Canada in 1993 organised by Elide and Marcelle Albert.  Next was Lambertville, New Jersey in 1994 arranged by the Lutermans and Giulians.  The first Vancouver, Canada meeting was held in 1995 with the hosts the Bosas and the Meadows). Connecticut was the venue in 1996 arranged by the Greenfields.  Then the first overseas meeting took place in London, England in 1997 beautifully organised by Frank and Barbara Ellis; back to North America and the great wine country, Napa, California for 1998 hosted by the O'Learys and Dean Walters; and then to Europe again, Samur, France in 1999 where the Songy family and the CFTB (Club Français du Tire-Bouchon).  The start of the millennium AGM 2000 was hosted once more in Toronto, Canada by Ron MacLean and Joe Paradi; the 2001 AGM, on the 20-th Anniversary of the founding of the CCCC, was hosted by Mark Barlow at a resort near Atlanta, U.S.A.; the 2002 AGM was ably hosted by Nic and Danny Arensman and Ferd Peters in Amsterdam, Holland.  The 2003 AGM was held in beautiful Monterey, California, U.S.A. and hosted by the Bystrans; while the 2004 AGM, hosted by Luciano Bottoni was held in the fabulous Italian resort, Lake Como.  In 2005 the AGM returned to Vancouver, Canada hosted by Wayne Meadows, Sal Robinson and Flory and Dennis Bosa.  The year 2006 saw us meet "Down Under" in Sydney, Australia for the CCCC's 25th anniversary - a memorable event, hosted and organized by Nick Hunt.  In 2007 the AGM went to Copenhagen, Denmark with the able hosting of the Arnbjergs (Jens and Lis) and Martin Jessen & Anne-Lise Koehler pair of corkscrew addicts.  Much was made of the natural beauty of Copenhagen, Tivoli and many other places.  In 2008 we gathered in Chattanooga, Tennesee, U.S.A. where John and Martha Morris put on a spectacular meeting.  The highlight for corkscrew people was the visit to John's house where he keeps his wonderful collection.  Not only his U.S.A. patent corkscrews were on dispplay, but he had also asked other collectors to bring along pieces that he did not have - and there are not many of those.  Then, in 2009, the AGM was held in London, England once more, hosted by The ABCDE (Association of British Corkscrew Devotees and Enthusiasts) chaired by Norman Wright, ably assisted by a number of others.  London is probably the corkscrew capital of the world in that Portobello Road and many top notch dealers are there.  As usual, it was a great event with the London eye and the highlight being the dinner at the RAF Club.  But in  2010 the AGM came back to the North American continent as John Donoghue hosted the event in the historic city of Boston, Mass.  There were corkscrews galore, auctions, trips, great food and good fellowship enjoyed by everyone.  Back to Europe in 2011, Cologne was the venue.  Klaus Biermann hosted an exceptional meeting complete with a memorable display of his corkscrews and an excellent social program.  In addition to the usual corkscrew auction, a special auction was held for the best of the Manfred Heckmann collection - lots of good corkscrews changed hands!  Food, wine and ambiance in this wonderful German city was enjoyed by all.

These meetings offer the members an opportunity to meet each other, talk about corkscrews, partake in some terrific hospitality, see the hosts' corkscrews and above all, participate in the Corkscrew Auctions.  Members bring many pieces for the auction and then engage in a spirited bidding contest on the available treasures.  This is great fun and people consider it the highlight of the weekend.  It is not unusual to have over 1,000 corkscrews available for buy, sell or trade and many hundreds for the auction.

Other Activities

It is not mandatory, but many members publish annual "Best Six" photos with a detailed description of the corkscrews shown.  This custom is the source of a great educational opportunity because many new and exciting corkscrews emerge each year.

Officers

Actually, there are no formal officers of the CCCC. There are two volunteer people as listed on the sidebar one edits the newsletter, called: The Quarterly Worme and the other collects dues and keeps the membership records. The hosts of the Annual meetings are selected for that year only and preside over their meeting.

Membership Application

Just CLICK HERE, fill out the form and mail to the Membership Co-ordinator

2010-2011 Volunteers:

Ms. Flory Bosa and
Ms. Sal Robinson
Newsletter Editors
2757 West 2nd Avenue
Vancouver, B.C.,
CANADA, V6K 1K2
e-mail:
quarterlyworme@telus.net

Milt Becker
Membership 
One Madison Street, (5B)
East Rutherford, NJ  07073
U.S.A.
Tel: 973-773-9224
e-mail: ccccdues@aol.com

Membership application form - click here.

Annual Auction results

CCCC 2010 Annual Meeting Auctions results!

To come soon

Previous Annual Meeting Auctions results are available!

For results, click HERE