Finally! It's BreyerFest Week!

It's BreyerFest week! A week when collectors would already be on the road and heading to Kentucky, while others would be finalizing packing and putting last minute touches on things to sell. (In fact, there would already be people at the host motel at this point in the week.)

Playing car Jenga is a part of BreyerFest for most of us. (Photo from Nancy Kelly.)

The Holiday Inn/Holiday Inn North/Clarion Holiday North/CHIN/Clarion has been the host hotel from the very beginning back in 1990.

That sprawling, multi-level behemoth requires a map along with notes as to how to get to various wings of the hotel. It is also the subject of many fond, tongue in cheek hobby jokes. (Can YOU find the mythical 800 block of rooms? Or the shark-hole Running Stallion?)

Right now we'd be making sure we were ready for long hours spent at Kentucky Horse Park and, in the earliest days of BreyerFest, anticipating the Saturday night tent dinner and where we would receive the annual Dinner model (now called the Celebration model.)

Dr. Peaches, three time winner of the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event, the 1990 BreyerFest Dinner model.

BreyerFest is held in Lexington, Kentucky, an area based on the equine industry, so naturally just about everything reflects that. Even the coke machines! (Ever noticed in the photos that I post that there is often a Coke can in the picture? My go-to drink!)

Photo by Breyer and from the BreyerFest - Official Group Facebook page.

Like last year, BreyerFest will be a virtual event, so collectors will be participating from home and not playing car Jenga or wandering the Clarion at night in search of that elusive shark-hole model. Like most people,  I'd prefer to meet in person but there are definite advantages (apart from preventing the spread of COVID) to holding a virtual event. 

A virtual event allows those who live far from the Kentucky Horse Park or in other countries to attend. For those who find the event overwhelmingly big, are bothered by the heat and humidity, or find it difficult to manage all the walking (I'm getting towards that stage), this way they can still participate.

Photo from Liz Cory's 2020 seminar on showing model horses. That's my woodgrain Five Gaiter.

I am grateful that Breyer is working so hard to ensure that we will still have our annual event. It may not be an in-person event chock full of friends and fun, but it is a well planned opportunity to have our annual gathering despite the ongoing pandemic.

Full marks to Breyer for that.