In August, Leah and Jocelyn took a road trip to Rochester, Minnesota where they bought a lot of candy. Then our friend Jamie in Germany sent a care package. Jocelyn's friend Mike went to Korea and brought us back candy. We have so much candy, friends. We're trying candy from Germany, Korea and Minnesota. We're talking sad documentaries and highway signs. Fast 9, AMC movie pass and so much more.

In July - JULY - Shai Korman from Friday Night Movie Podcast was in Chicago for 24 hours and he dropped into the Candy Chat Chicago HQ for a quick record. Then we sat on the file for months, because... life is hard sometimes. It was worth the wait - Shai tells us about how our mutual friend Justin Korda changed campaigning at their high school in Montreal, his favorite parts of a nuero-psych exam and how a good joke means love. July was when our second care package from Jamie in Germany arrived, so we started trying some treats from Europe! Listen to Shai and his sister's on Friday Night Movie Podcast  and Shai's first episode with us

In this extra-special episode, Leah visited her friend Caroline to interview her eight-year-old daughter about candy hierarchies and taste some classic treats. Now that Shira is 9, we decided it was time to share the conversation! Special guests Neil and Eli. (Jocelyn was very sad to miss out on this recording) Candy we tried Watermelon Jelly Belly Twizzlers Sunkist fruit gems Twix Snickers M&Ms Crunch YooHoo chocolate Dum dum lollipops Tootsie rolls (small) Milky Way 3 Musketeers Kit Kat Duo - Strawberry and Dark Chocolate Reese’s Cup Show Links Whatever happened to tan M&Ms? Candy Squared Windy City Sweets Caroline was previously a guest on Finding Favorites talking about how to prepare for Passover.

In an episode that defines "come for the candy, stay for the chat," Leah and Jocelyn have a long talk about aasking someone, "are you okay?" when they obviously are not. We talk subscription snack boxes, the art of drinking a slushie, refilling ice trays and ADHD and the difference between Twizzlers and Red Vines. We also tried a number of "pick & mix" candies from Sweets & Snacks Expo 2022 Topics Aunt Mame Mahomet Soda Fest Universal Yums Mascot Mixes Candy we tried Tropical Smarties Frooties Julia Fazer Karl Fazer Fazer Mint Daim (Fazer) Choco Jello

Leah and Jocelyn recap their biggest adventure of the year - going to the Mahomet Soda Festival with Jasmine - then sample an Idaho care package of Huckleberry candies. We talk about Spidey's end of life care, the worst drink at McDonald's ever served and a collapsing Tik Tok stool. Mahomet Soda Festival Wiley Wallaby Liquorice Huckleberry Huckleberry Candy Wiley Wallaby Sourrageous Drops Moose Plop  Luncheon Tickets from Argentina Cot vs Caught Tour vs Tore Bennie and Binny’s Mom's suitcase of candy rant

Jocelyn and Leah talk about Top Gun way too long considering only Leah had seen it at the time of the record. This epsiode is dedicated to the Fruit & Chewy bag of candy from Sweets & Snacks Expo 2022. Candy we try Jones Soda carbonated candy Welch’s Strawberry Grape Rips Jell-O Candy Squares Sour Cherry https://www.amazon.com/Shocks-Popping-Candy-Assorted-Flavors/dp/B074N8HVFH Chunk Nibbles Pecan Nation - Sneaky Heat Hi Chew CW: we also talk briefly about the overturn of Roe V Wade, because we recorded a few days after the decision.

After meeting the team from Pearson's Candy at Sweets & Snacks 2022, Jocelyn received a very special delivery from Sandy. It was like Christmas morning and the best Halloween rolled into one when we unboxed a huge surprise including t-shirts, Pearson's Salted Nut Rolls, Pearson's Mint Patties, and Pearson's Maple and Vanilla Buns.   PSNR on the Appalachian trail as a treat for vegetarian hikers. We also tried Jackson's Sweet Potato Chips Three Amigo's Elote Snack Mix

Leah and Jocelyn continue to eat their way through the Sweets and Snacks 2022 Expo. In this episode, they do a Chipventory to see what savory snacks lay ahead, were sad to realize that the cool weather was still too hot for chocolate to be in the car all day, and had a heated debate about firework safety. Show Notes Hot Tamale Peeps Mike & Ikes Mega Mix Sour Jolly Rancher Gummies Squashies by Sweettarts Face Twisters https://foreigncandy.com/ https://foreigncandy.com/rips/ https://clickamericana.com/topics/culture-and-lifestyle/school-education/vintage-fundraisers-kids-selling-earn-money-scouts-school-clubs https://www.postcrescent.com/story/life/food/2019/04/02/frozen-pizza-made-wisconsin-satisfies-pepperoni-cheese-supreme-hunger-across-state-nation/2776334002/ Chipventory https://www.marettibakery.com/  https://lilliesq.com/collections/chips https://815eats.com/ https://www.pringles.com/us/products/scorchin.html * Three Amigos Elote Snack Mix https://www.spudsy.com/ https://jacksonschips.com/ https://paqui.com/ https://www.naturescrushpopcorn.com/ Other notes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_of_Music,_Arts_and_Dance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H.O.R.D.E. https://blockclubchicago.org/2021/07/01/bowmanville-neighbor-wants-city-to-be-more-strict-about-stopping-unofficial-fireworks-event-at-winnemac-park/ https://www.nsc.org/home-safety/tools-resources/seasonal-safety/summer/fireworks https://www.kopps.com/  Melted Chocolate Inventory https://tonyschocolonely.com/us/en   https://annabellecandy.com/ https://www.blissfullybetter.com/ https://www.ritter-sport.com/ https://stuffedpuffs.com/ https://www.cqc.com/ https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/almond-roca-toffey-canister/ID=prod6046974-product

Jocelyn spent two days walking 13,000 steps around the Sweets & Snacks Expo 2022 and she came back to report after each day. Top Trends Socially responsible companies Chili Lime Sour Gummies Hot (spicey) savory Day One Companies Pearson's Nerds Welch’s fruit snacks Cake Bites Taffy Town Jelly Belly Goldbergs peanut chews Hostess Old Wisconsin Summer Sausage Hot Tamales Peeps Laffy Taffy Mambas  Hi Chew Oreo Cakesters Ritter Sports Day Two Companies Food Fight Warhead's Sour Soda Blissfully better https://itsjustnude.com/ https://chunknibbles.com/ Hot Tamale peeps Mike and Ikes Mega Mix - Sour Jolly Rancher gummies, very berry Squashies - Sweet Tarts Face twisters sour taffy combo Schuster Products, LLC, Hales Corner WI

The night before Sweets & Snacks 2022, Leah and Jocelyn previewed the agenda, tried to plan parking, talked about Bibles and reality TV. They also tried some candy.   Things we tried Laff Bites Sour Punch Bites Old Bay Goldfish crackers Reese's Fast Break Thank you to Doug at Chocolate First for letting us join your team during Sweets & Snacks!