Calgary “2L Soda Dad” will return for Halloween but help is needed

Muffarino/TikTok

Only a few short days ago, the family behind the “2L Soda Dad” sensation in Calgary announced it would not be returning for Halloween 2024, but a lot has changed since then.

When the announcement was made on TikTok on Monday, both locals and non-locals alike took to the comments to share their grief at the loss of a beloved annual event.

@muffarino THANK YOU FOR AN AMAZING 9 YEARS CALGARY ❤️❤️❤️ have a wonderful, fun & safe Halloween without us! #2lsodadad #halloween #yyc #calgary ♬ Only Time – Enya

The tradition of handing out full-sized pop bottles to eager trick-or-treaters started nine years ago, but maintaining the labour of love was a lot of work.

Daily Hive spoke with April Walton, the daughter of “2L Soda Dad” (better known as Shane). She says while pop prices have gone up, the biggest obstacle to their success has been the manual labour needed to pull it off.

“Just the hands, the labour it takes, I would argue that’s the biggest workaround. We have not been successful, we try every year of getting it delivered directly to the house and efficiently put in our house. Like sometimes Superstore will get us a bit of a deal, not really, but they’ll give us their wholesale price, and then they’ll allow us access to their warehouse, but we’ve still gotta load it up by hand.”

When you consider that they purchased 2,000 pop bottles last year alone, it’s no wonder they’re experiencing some burnout.

@muffarino If you need my dad he’ll be in his Soda Fort. No mean people allowed. #fyp #yyc #2lsodadad #halloween2022 @April ♬ original sound – Muffy

@muffarino We stoked #fyp #yyc #2lsodadad #halloween2022 ♬ original sound – Muffy

April says they need people to help them out in practical ways to make another epic Halloween happen in Calgary, especially since she moved to the United States for school.

“Just the delivery, taking out a huge bulk of the labour and then finding people to help hand them out and replenish them throughout. Because I am in Arizona, it would be nice to have someone who is good at making social media videos because that would save me a lot of money on having to fly to Canada and back.”

Following the announcement, people quickly offered financial support and suggested a GoFundMe, but April wants to clarify that they’re not looking for money from the community.

“We absolutely do not want to take from the community. That’s not what this is about. My dad started it on his own, self-funding it on his own because it was just a hilarious idea to him. We don’t want to take money from the community; the cost of living is already hard enough.”

While they’re not looking for money, they have been trying to get the attention of major companies for sponsorships for years, and the good news is one finally showed up! Circle K stepped up to the plate after news that the tradition wouldn’t be returning this year started making waves on social media.

@muffarino Replying to @Circle K Canada came in clutch 💪 #2lsodadad #2lsodahalloween #thewaltons #yyc #calgary ♬ WE ARE BACK BABY – iluvtargaryen

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April Walton

Following the sponsorship, the family has officially announced they will make sure the tradition continues this year, but they still need all hands on deck. If you feel inspired to help out, you can join the dream time by filling out an application here.