BreyerFest 2021 - Friday

I'm an early riser, but I got up even earlier (4:30 AM!) on BreyerFest Friday. I was simply too excited to sleep any longer. I knew I'd be tired as the day progressed, but since that's true to the in-person BreyerFest experience, I didn't mind.

With the countdown running on my laptop, I made sure I had gathered everything I would need

(and I mean NEED, haha!) and settled in at my desk in the horse room.

Last year I learned that the live broadcast was a must-watch, so I had it running on my laptop while I shopped and attended seminars and presentations on my desktop.

Almost immediately after logging in, there was a problem - I could access my special run models and the store, but I couldn't put a thing into my cart. I texted a couple of friends who confirmed that they were having the same problem. 

One advised me to switch my browser to Firefox, and that did the trick. I snapped up my special runs, bought the crystal horse (Prisma), Kaleidescope, and the Stablemate set, and was ready to move on to seminars and other things.

The live broadcast was amazing, and I was thrilled to be with the Kellys when they went into the archive room with hostess Kimber Goodwin.

My friend Allison Pareis and I were texting back and forth at times, super excited at what we could see on the shelves in the archive room.

I was also watching seminars, and in the Hands-on-Hobby section, I discovered a seminar for making haversacks (pony pouches) presented by Terry Heath. Curious, I clicked on that one and began watching.

There are many ways to make a haversack, and I could tell right away that Terry was a skilled sewist and knew what she was doing. She takes a very different approach to making them from me, and I enjoyed seeing how she made them.

Her haversack cutting dimensions were different from mine, too. They are a little wider and a lot shorter. (Part of that is because I do a deep flap on mine.) If you're looking for some good instruction on how to make your own haversacks, watch Terry's video - it is worth your time.

Meanwhile, Allison and I continued to fan girl over what we were seeing in the Breyer archives.

At 1:00 I did the Meet and Greet with Kathleen Moody on Zoom.

Kathleen and I have been friends since the late 1990s and when she sculpted her Moyles horse, Rockwell, in 2001, she asked for input from a few friends, including me. (I shared that story in a series of blog posts in June, 2017. They are here if you want to read about how Rockwell came about.)

When Rockwell went into production, Kathleen gifted us each with a resin Rockwell as a surprise. She is a generous lady.

After the Meet and Greet with Kathleen, I went to see the contest entries. The Living Art Costume Contest had some amazing entries! My absolute favorite was Lisa Esping's interpretation of George Seurat's A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte (1884.) (Photo shared with me by Lisa - thanks, Lisa!!)

My connection with the painting goes back to my childhood - my elementary school lined the hallways with art, and this picture was one that had particularly fascinated me as a child.

I remember wanting to join those people on the banks of the river and enjoying the sunshine. (Photo from Etsy.)

After looking at all the living art interpretations and then the diorama entries (equally fabulous!) I headed over to the Seminars tile and clicked on Liz Cory's Hobby History.

Like me, Liz's hobby involvement goes back to the early days of the hobby but I never fail to learn something new in her seminars!  (It was fun to see photos of my models in this seminar, too.)

For dinner, I decided to see if I couldn't replicate some more of the BreyerFest experience. In the early days, the only restaurants close to the host hotel were Waffle House and Denny's. We don't have a Waffle House here, but we do have a Denny's.

But Craig and I chose the restaurant next door - also a connection to BreyerFest for us.

When Craig went to BreyerFest with me in 2019, we went to Bob Evans for dinner. And since neither one of us is overly fond of Denny's, we chose that instead as a nod to the past. You can see that I "dress" for BreyerFest, but you can't see my shoes in this photo.

My live show shoes! They're getting old and worn, but not to worry, I bought two pairs when I got these.

A final comment - last year I was grateful that Breyer held a virtual event, but because of issues with shopping (refresh, refresh, refresh for hours) I didn't get to chat with my friends at all. I felt isolated and alone, even lonely.

(Screen shot from Liz Cory's Hobby History; I'm on the middle bottom holding a Freeman Leidy circus horse.)

This year, the shopping went smoothly and I did not spend hours at the computer trying to buy my models. I was able to relax and text friends throughout the day, comparing notes, commenting on what we'd seen or bought, and just enjoying the shared experience that BreyerFest is supposed to be.

The first day of BreyerFest was awesome; I can't wait to see what today brings!