The Calgary International Pin Club is celebrating it’s 36th annual Festival of Pins to celebrate the hobby of pin trading. Every year the event has a theme, and for 2026 the festival is marking the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Legion in Canada. “Different members collect different types of pins,” said John Yamniuk, club president. “Whether it’s (the) legion, whether it’s football, hockey, Stampede, (the) Olympics — it’s unlimited the number of collectors that have specific things that they’re collecting.” Yamniuk says the festival, which is free to the public, takes place Aug. 22 and 23 at the Austrian Canadian Cultural Centre. He says members at the event are seeing more people arrive with pins they have at home and aren’t sure what to do with. “We’re seeing a lot of that now where folks have inherited a collection that someone in the family had started to collect,” he said. “If you don’t know what to do with the pins, we’ll find new homes for them.” Club members are spread across the country from British Columbia to Quebec and many have well over 100,000 pins in their collections and have become experts on various genera of pins, Yamniuk says. Value is typically based on what someone is willing to pay to obtain a prized pin to complete their collection. “The value of pins is dependent on a couple of factors, how rare is it for example, what is the pin composed of sterling silver or gold, how many were created, if it’s a limited number the value goes up,” he said. “It’s also what it’s worth to me, as a collector, I’m looking for one specific pin from the telecom world and that value to me is greater than it would be to somebody who maybe has that pin.” Doug Wagg is a 20-year member and also the president of the Bowness Legion. He’s the resident expert on legion pins with the club who started collecting when he was young. “My dad was a veteran, so I was collecting army and different legion pins, I used to escape Calgary from work and go for trips,” he said. “Then I’d grab pins from whatever legion I went to because every legion puts out a different pin.” Members say their hobby has a social component to it and they welcome visitors to the festival so they can teach them about the pins they may bring with them and give them an honest assessment of their worth. The club says there is a trade, buy-and-sell and donate component to the festival, along with door prized and a silent auction. It’s also hosting 50/50 draws supporting the Veterans Association Food Bank. Learn more about the event here.
