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Cleveland has been awarded a national beer 'can-vention' - an annual showcase to buy, sell, and show all things beer-related. It's the first time the breweriana convention will be in Cleveland.

(Marc Bona, cleveland.com)

CLEVELAND, Ohio - For the first time, Cleveland has landed a national, annual convention to celebrate all things beer - from its history to collectible items.

The can-vention - as it's known - is put on by the Brewery Collectibles Club of America, a group that has been around since 1970. Cleveland edged several cities for the right to stage the 2017 show. It will be Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 24-26, though organizers said many people begin showing up on Monday, sometimes even the Sunday prior, for a variety of pre-convention events. Attendees will gather at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown and Huntington Convention Center.

Initially, Cleveland and Omaha, Nebraska, vied for the 2017 show. A decision was supposed to have been announced in the first quarter of this year, but earning the rights to the show is a competitive business: Organizers had to pour over and compare hotel rates and other accessibility factors between cities, and revisions were called for.

"We're stoked about it," said convention planner Dave Gausepohl, who is based in Kentucky. "It's a great location, but it took us that long to get us a facility that has the right stuff."

The "right stuff" is really a financial nitty-gritty. When Omaha and Cleveland didn't make the initial grade on persuading planners to land the event, Gausepohl suggested three other cities be considered: Columbus, Louisville and Grand Rapids, Michigan.

It was then, he said, that "people started looking a little closer at what they can do." Gausepohl is prone to calling the negotiations a "dance," and it was one he was willing to scrutinize to find the right partner.

"It was a matter of within the dance 'Can we get the price to make sense?' You can have a great room rate but paying $45 a night to park your car" could negate the hotel stay, he said.

Gausepohl said he thinks Cleveland could bring in 1,200 to 1,400 people. Omaha will host the can-vention in 2018.

The non-profit BCCA is based in Fenton, Missouri. While regional BCCA chapters hold smaller gatherings throughout the year, the national is a chance for breweriana collectors to check out everything from cans, signs, trays, openers, photos, glasses and many items from various parts of the country, all under one roof for several days. The organization promotes buying, selling, trading and displaying of items.

While the show doesn't have the cache of, say, the Republican National Convention that was held in Cleveland this summer, it is a coup for a city that embraces beer, past and present. Last year's can-vention attracted 2,000 people in Milwaukee, and this year's drew fewer than 1,000 Sept. 1-3 in Portland. The numbers dropped in part because of the distance from the heart of the organization's membership, which is heaviest around the Great Lakes, Gausepohl said.

Cleveland has a few things going for it in terms of beer: It has a healthy brewery scene, it counts a long history of regional breweries, and its local BCCA chapter is thriving. The state's first craft brewery - Great Lakes Brewing Co. - was founded in Cleveland in 1988. And Platform Beer Co. has expanded into the old Leisy plant on Vega Avenue.

Collectors often seek older items, and with the roots of Cleveland's brewery scene dating to the 19th century a convention here will include a focus on items from Leisy and other early breweries. Several Northeast Ohio-based authors have written extensively on regional brewing history.

"I really am thrilled to get it here," said Lake Erie chapter President Rodger Brane, who spent a fair amount of time connecting BCCA organizers with officials in Cleveland. "It was grueling waiting and waiting. Everyone kept asking me 'what's going on?' Toward the end, when I went to Portland, I knew everything was worth it. I just had to stay patient, and it worked out in the end."

The Lake Erie chapter will hold a show 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 9, at the North Olmsted Party Center, 29271 Lorain Road. The free show is open to the public. Those wanting to bring items to be appraised are welcomed.

"It's cool," said Gausepohl, who attended the 2015 Lake Erie chapter show in North Olmsted. "We're coming to a city that has never hosted it before. After 46 years of doing this we finally get to Cleveland. Cleveland has a great collecting scene, incredible current brewing scene, and history."

The can-vention is three days on paper, but it really lasts a week, with folks arriving for room-to-room events for several days prior to the gathering at the convention center. The first two days on the convention floor will be members-only, but Saturday's finale is open to the public. Plus outings will be planned to a Cleveland Indians game, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum and other places, Brane said, and beer tours also will be scheduled.

But before anyone goes room hopping with specialty cans or memorabilia to show or sell, Brane will be busy. It's the local chapter's responsibility to produce the traditional specially designed can, and the deadline is coming up on that.

"We want to try to honor some of the past brewing history we have," he said.