ROANOKE, Va. – It’s a staple of Downtown Roanoke – large, iconic, and historic, the Dr Pepper sign serves as a welcome into the Star City. On Monday, the city celebrated the soda in style on Dr Pepper Day.
“I took the day off work for this. I do it every year. Take the day off work, come and get my little shirt and my Dr Pepper,” said Amy Cook from Martinsville.
Some came out early to get in on the action, including Michael Halfmann who was first in line.
“Why so early? It’s Dr Pepper Day. I expected a huge crowd, I’ve been coming out here, this is my fifth year and in years past there’s always been a big line, so I wanted to be first,” said Halfmann.
It became a very popular spot to get free soda swag, including shades and t-shirts.
“I’m getting my t-shirt. I have a t-shirt collection from Dr Pepper and wanted to get another one,” Halfmann added.
“We’ve added a QR code that you can click on with your cell phone that will take you to Dr Pepper history,” explained Waynette Anderson, President of Dr Pepper Park at the Bridges.
That history explains why the Star City holiday falls on October 24.
“It was a marketing plan back in 1927 called “grab a bite to drink,” which encouraged people to have a drink of Dr Pepper at 10, 2 and 4 o’clock because studies had shown the body lags in energy at those times,” added Anderson.
Some soda lovers said they drink it 24/7.
“That’s all I drink is Dr Pepper every day, all day,” said Cook.
So if they were there to stop for a pop or get their dog decked out for Doctober, Dr Pepper Day was a Star City success.